For Chris Schembra, it all started with a homemade pasta sauce.
Back in 2015, after returning to New York from staging a play in Italy, Schembra spontaneously tried out a new recipe. He then invited 15 close friends to gather around his dinner table and test it out.
“They liked the sauce, and they liked meeting each other, and I fell in love with connecting people around my dinner table,” says Schembra.
After 55 dinners and 960 fed mouths, the 747 Club is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Though these weekly dinners continue to be held at Schembra’s apartment for close friends, businesses now hire him to put on dinner parties for their employees as a means of promoting team bonding. The purpose remains the same: to connect people to each other through food.
The meal remains consistent: With strictly 16 attendees every time, the dinner begins with Schembra’s sauce, which he hasn’t changed at all since serving it for the first time. The pasta is followed by his homemade ice cream. The flavor changes every week and always features Girl Scout cookies.
“People want safety and structure,” says Schembra. “If you do something for 54 straight weeks, they know they’re coming into a safe and structured environment.”
The safe space attendees experience at the dinner table is influenced by the safe space Schembra learned within the walls of AA.
During each dinner, Schembra delegates tasks to his attendees so that they’ll get to know each other.
For example, “I’ll grab Joe and Katie, give Joe two cups of peanuts and give Katie honey, oil, salt, sugar, and a food processor, and tell them to make it taste like peanut butter,” says Schembra.
When one person asks Schembra why the peanut butter tastes so good, he’ll tell them to talk to Joe and Katie, hence beginning a dialogue between strangers. The rules: the first time you come alone, and the second time you bring a friend. After that, you are eligible to nominate other potential attendees. The wait list has grown to about 300 people who are all eager to attend one of Schembra’s famous dinners.
With Schembra’s background as the producing partner at OHenry Productions, a theater production company in New York, the 747 Club has naturally grown into a company that goes beyond dinners in New York. They plan a variety of events to connect people, including a theater event where the only way to obtain a ticket is by attending one of five dinner parties.
“My buddy called me up to come to California to do a play for him,” Schembra explains. “We had done a play in Italy, so I said, ‘Okay, but if I’m coming I’m bringing my dinners with me.’ And it became something we should take on the road.”
A few weeks ago, Schembra hosted one of his dinners at WeWork Penn Station for 160 friends. So far, he hasn’t grown his personal dinners past its friend network for a reason. He quotes writer Kevin Kelly when arguing that an artist can make a great living off 1,000 true fans. According to Kelly, a true fan is “someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up.”
Coming into contact with so many people throughout the course of the year has proved to Schembra that his dinners are truly making an impact.
“I want people to know my life’s purpose is to make the world one step smaller,” says Schembra. “We can do it together and create collaborative communities. You don’t have to go out to build an exclusive membership club just to create community.”
Photos: Katelyn Perry