In December of 2022, two brothers from Salt Lake, George Cardon-Bystry and Charlie Cardon, decided to open Edison House, a social club for a distinctly anti-social era. The two started with a bare lot and constructed their design-forward space from the ground up to be a new kind of place, casual and inviting. Somewhere you could work remotely, have lunch, meet friends for drinks, take in a lecture and then attend a high-class party.
It’s three years later, so we checked back in with the brothers to see how it’s going, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and what lessons they’ve taken to heart.
How do you help people make real-life connections?
Charlie: The process of creating connections and friends requires buy-in and investment, no matter how much scaffolding you put around it. The way we think about connection and friendship is that it’s our job to create as many fertile opportunities as possible for connections—we build that scaffolding, but there’s still always that next level of investment. We had some members who came to us and said, “I didn’t meet anybody.” We’d ask them, “Did you go to the events? Did you go to the parties? Did you go up and say ‘Hi’ to people?” They didn’t. That next step is scary for people. But we had a member tell us last year, “I made more friends in the last year at Edison House than I have in the last 10 years in Salt Lake.”
It’s hard to make real-life friendships. What about people who just look at their phones?
George: We have learned that creating a social scaffolding is difficult. Our reaction has been to improve that scaffolding—for example, implementing member clubs in the last year or so.
CEO and co-founder of Edison House. (Photo by Adam Finkle)
These are interest clubs that allow members to coalesce around others who are like-minded. We have a wine club, an outdoors club, a women’s club, a men’s club and an LGBTQ club. They are all led by members, volunteering to bring further programming and connections among people like themselves.
There are aspects of who we are that we want to be foundational, but that foundation is all built on the idea of being adaptable to our environment.
How do you create a place for people from different walks of life?
Charlie: My experience is that a lot of that sentiment is captured online. When we’re here in person, I know we have lots of people who disagree on lots of topics, and they all seem to be friends. We hope we’re an antidote. Everybody comes to this club, and if there are disagreements, we’re presenting a talk that might raise different opinions.
When people get on the microphone to ask questions, they are always respectful. It’s never nasty. It’s “Hey, I view this differently than you; let’s talk about things we have in common.”
“…we had a member tell us last year, ‘I made more friends in the last year at Edison House than I have in the last 10 years in Salt Lake.” —Charlie Cardon
George: A huge part of our value is helping [people] see that ‘this little box in my pocket is not serving me. It’s not good for my mental health.’ What’s good for your mental health is talking to others and connecting with others in a real way. Social media promised to connect us, but it didn’t do it in a way that actually served us. That’s what we’re here for.
Traditionally, social clubs sell their exclusivity. Do you do that?
George: We are exclusive, but it’s a different type of exclusive. The exclusivity of the old type of social club is money and network. That’s not at all how we feel about it. What we think about it’s like a bell curve and we’re chopping off the ends, those people that none of us want to be around. No egos. No jerks. Are you interesting, courteous and kind? We look for people who are interested in what they are doing. We have everyone from people in the symphony to doctors, to people in the military and artists. It’s a different type of exclusivity.
Have you had to revoke memberships?
Charlie: Yeah, a couple of people! That is part of being a club. We do curate an environment and we uphold community values. You can’t come in here and be a jerk.
What’s next?
George: We just bought a double-decker bus!
What? A London double-decker bus?
George: They are shipping it over from the UK. We’re going to deck it out and turn it into an Edison House on wheels. It’s going to be part of our effort to get into the community. We’ll take members out to concerts or tailgating at the stadium. We’re taking Edison House on the road. We’re always looking for something dynamic like that. We do anticipate and plan on growing, opening more locations and expanding our footprint in the not-too-distant future.
Edison House memberships start at $250 a month. Visit their website to learn more.
Find more of our lifestyle coverage. And while you’re here, subscribe to Salt Lake magazine to receive six beautiful print issues a year!
