Merchants Club

The year is 1937. The Cleveland syndicate holds a tight grip on Newport, Kentucky, dubbed, “the Vegas of the Midwest.” Cincinnati’s tawny power brokers cross the river to swill bourbon, swap gossip, and rub shoulders with gangsters and hustlers. Underground gambling casinos sprout up like weeds. One of these quasi-clandestine locales opens at 15 East 4th Street. Run by none other than Red Masterson, a reward for his role in the legendary Beverly Hills club fire. The Merchants club occupies three stories, including a luxurious dining room and casino. Today’s Merchants Club offers a moody respite from life’s humdrum, a chance to sip something classic and wax wistful about days gone by. Stop on by, we’re the only club in town where everyone’s a member.

The logo pays subtle homage to the original Merchants Club signage, while playing off of Platte’s new-deco motifs for the interior. The typography is elegant, yet relaxed, locked up with a slogan that is location-appropriate and timeless: well-sourced & stocked.The jewel-toned color palette, partly defined by interior choices, creates a tasteful shroud of smokiness for the identity to inhabit with its deep greens and grays.

Illustrative assets and patterns pay period homage to the height of Newport’s 1920s excess, like the Grecian key pattern found on old gambling chips from the original Merchants Club.   The MC system, with its minimal type-driven emblems that would feel right at home at an off-track betting parlor, comes together in elegant simplicity, lending a vibe to a bar-within-a-liquor-store that feels special yet inviting; not too high-end, but as crisp and cool as that first cocktail sip.