Messina Social Club is releasing new memberships — and 100 will be free
Messina Social Club is releasing new memberships, but for the first time, half of them will be geared towards restaurant workers. If you work in the industry, your membership is free.
Twice a year, the members-only South Philly hangout Messina Social Club combs through its list of members — currently 8,000 — weeds out inactive ones, and releases a hundred new memberships.
Starting this week until they’re sold out, Messina is accepting new member applications. A basic membership, which costs $25 and $20 per year thereafter, includes the ability to make reservations and visit the club any time it’s open with up to three guests.
This fall, Messina’s owners are also releasing an additional 100 free memberships for restaurant-industry workers — one of the club’s key clientele.
Because it has a PLCB club license, Messina is able to serve alcohol until 3 a.m., an hour later than conventional liquor licenses. That has attracted a late-night crowd of industry workers who can come in for a cocktail and a roast pork sandwich after their own restaurants close for the night.
The free memberships are a gesture to the rising price of daily goods, from rent to gas to groceries.
“Everything is terrible, especially for restaurant-industry people,” said owner Jason Cichonski. “We’re trying to be more approachable for them.”
With industry workers in mind, Messina now offers an a la carte menu as well as half-price wine bottles on Wednesday. “We’ve been finding that a lot of restaurant friends are having a hard time going out and spending $100 on dinner and ... [another] $20 to $30 on drinks,” he said.
Unlike nearby Palizzi Social Club — whose occasional limited membership releases see prospective customers wait in long lines, even in the rain — Messina membership can be purchased online. Potential new members can also apply in person during service hours.
Messina Social Club was founded in 1909 for Italian immigrants in the neighborhood, many of whom had come from Messina, in northern Sicily. It gradually became a place to smoke and play cards.
When Cichonski and executive chef and partner Eddie Konrad took over in 2019, they transformed Messina Social Club into a tucked-away restaurant with a tasting menu.
To join, interested customers can go to messinasocialclub.com/join and enter “Msc2026” as the password. Industry members need proof of industry work, “whether it’s a business card, paystub, name tag or whatever,” said Cichonski.
Messina Social Club is open 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 5:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Messina Social Club, 1533 S. 10th St., 267-928-4152, messinasocialclub.com
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