In Charlottesville and Richmond, Common House is a social club designed for connection.
By day, it welcomes remote workers, seeking solace from the home office. By night, it’s a social hub, hosting movie screenings, networking opportunities, yoga classes, and more. This is Common House, a gathering space with personality.
With roots in Charlottesville since 2017, a second location in Richmond, third in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and others set to open in mid-sized cities across the Southeast, Common House seeks to foster community.
Founders Derek Sieg, Ben Pfinsgraff, and Josh Rogers—all University of Virginia alumni—set out to create “a hub for people of all backgrounds to socialize, learn, and grow,” in the spirit of “bridge clubs, neighborhood associations, and bowling leagues” of the past. “Above all, our goal is to make room for creativity, connection, and curiosity to flourish,” says Sieg.
Cornerstones of Common House’s community-minded mission are intentionally designed work and hangout spaces, thoughtful food and beverage programming, and a chock-full events calendar. Another cornerstone of Common House is membership, which includes an initiation fee and monthly dues. Membership provides access to all locations.
The flagship Charlottesville site is steps from the Downtown Mall in the historic Mentor Lodge, originally a social club for the African-American neighborhood of Vinegar Hill built in 1913. The Richmond location, known as Common House No. 2, was a furniture factory, in what’s now the city’s Arts District.
All three Common Houses feature full-service bars and restaurants, with in-house sommeliers and seasonal fare made with local ingredients. “Our culinary program orbits around the social connections happening in the club,” says hospitality director Joe Scala. “Dishes are sharable, nostalgic, and crafted to equally delight during a game of trivia, or an elevated 10-course wine dinner.”
Event programming is Common House’s calling card. “We have these beautiful spaces, but if we don’t give members a reason to come into our Houses every day, we’ve missed the mark,” says director of programming, Virginia Nelson. “Each month, we plan 20+ monthly events per location that are intended to bring people together — from live music and speaking engagements to wellness classes and wine tastings.”
Good food, new friends, and meaningful experiences—at the end of day, Common House is more like a Home. CommonHouse.com
