Nicholas Keith Arthur Jones, MBE (born 22 September 1963) is an English restaurateur and club proprietor. He is the owner of the Babington House hotel and health club and founder and former[1] chief executive of Soho House UK Ltd, which specialises in luxury private members' club venues[2] with restaurants, cinemas, health spas and bedrooms, with some aspects open to the public. Jones retains a minority shareholding (10%) in the Soho House group.

Early life

His father was an insurance broker.[3] Jones grew up in Cobham, Surrey, the third of four children. At seven, he was sent to boarding school. By his own admission, he didn't shine at school, and partly puts this down to his dyslexia. By the time he left school at 17 he had decided on a career in catering. "It was considered a sh*t job, 20 years ago. But that was partly the reason why I wanted to go into it. Plus, I'm obsessed with food." He was partly influenced in this decision by the fact that his mother was a follower of the chef Robert Carrier.[4]

Career

The rooftop bar at Soho House in New York

After leaving school he joined the Trusthouse Forte training scheme in 1980.[5] He spent eight years with the group, rising to marketing manager at Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. In the 1980s, Jones created Over the Top, a small group of restaurants.[6][7]

He opened the Soho House Club above his Café Boheme restaurant in 1995. His current portfolio includes six London restaurants (Balham Kitchen & Bar, Barcelona, Boheme Kitchen and Bar, Café Boheme, Cecconi's and Electric Brasserie).[8][9]

The clubs include Soho House (London and New York), Babington House in Somerset, the Electric House and High Road House & Brasserie in London and Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire.[10]

The group has also developed the Cowshed spa and salon along with a line of Cowshed-branded hair and body products.[11]

Babington House

In 1998 he acquired Babington House, which offered a private members' club and cinema.[12]

In that year, he was cautioned by police after eleven Polish illegal immigrants were found working at the hotel.[13] The hotel has gained a strong celebrity following, hosting many notable weddings.[14]

In 2003, he opened Soho House New York (with 24 bedrooms, a cinema, bar, restaurant, Cowshed spa and private members' club), along with the Balham Kitchen & Bar and in early 2004 took over the daily operation of Mayfair restaurant Cecconi's which was reopened in late 2005 after a complete makeover.[6]

In 2016, Jones announced the launch of Soho Home, a version of his current venture which allowed guests to additionally purchase the furniture within the property they were staying in.[15] The inspiration behind this new development simply came from requests by guests staying at Soho House venues for the vendors which their furnishings came from.[15] As more and more items were manufactured in house, Jones made the call to sell them as products separately.[15]

Jones was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to the hospitality industry.[16]

Personal life

He has two children,[17] from his first marriage.[4] He married his second wife, television presenter Kirsty Young at Babington House in September 1999, having met her there in 1998. The couple have two daughters.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Soho House boss Nick Jones to step down after 27 years". Financial Times. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Nick Jones". Tatler. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "Nick Jones: Perfecting the art of pampering – Features – Food & Drink". The Independent. London. 12 November 2005. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 Rachel Cooke (3 November 2005). "Wanna be in my club? | The Observer". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: Nick Jones, Soho House Group". The Caterer. July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  7. ↑ Cooke, Rachel (13 April 2003). "Wanna be in my club?". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "Business profile: The salesman of Soho-chic". 2 April 2005. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Nick Jones | Judges | Dezeen Awards". Dezeen. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  10. ↑ B-B, Alice (19 October 2016). "Exclusive review: Soho Farmhouse". CN Traveller. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Whitworth, Damian (24 January 2019). "Nick Jones, the man from Soho House, does Crossroads". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Monk, Zoe (10 April 2019). "INDUSTRY TITANS: Nick Jones, CEO, Mollie's Motel". Boutique Hotelier. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  13. ↑ Savill, Richard (3 February 2001). "Celebrities' hotel risks fine over immigrants". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Most Popular Celebrity Wedding Venues". Manor by the Lake. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 Fairs, Marcus (12 July 2016). ""Above all, design has to be comfortable" says Soho House founder Nick Jones". Dezeem. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "New Year's Honours 2017 – Press releases". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  17. ↑ Melanie Reid. "Life". The Times. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  18. ↑ Alleyne, Richard (24 January 2012). "I don't want my children to be happy just to be content and have self worth, says Kirsty Young". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
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