Calling All Boss Ladies, The Wing Is Coming to Boston

Photo by Tory Williams

Chances are you’ve met a female entrepreneur, artist, executive, or generally hard-working hustler. And therefore, you’ve most likely heard of The Wing. If you haven’t, picture an adult clubhouse with enviable interiors where women pay a monthly fee to gain access to resources, events, and networking opportunities with other incredibly cool and successful women who together will one day take over the world.

The women powerhouses among us who lament the fact that the Wing has yet to grace our shores will lament no more. In just a few short months, you, too, will have the opportunity to become a member at the new 10,000-square-foot space opening in the Back Bay. The Wing’s Boston outpost is set to have floor-to-ceiling windows, 360-degree views of the city, and a seasonal terrace. Expect the requisite luxury amenities like the famed beauty room stocked with Glossier products, artfully decorated conference rooms, working spaces, and mothers’ rooms, as well as the in-house cafe, The Perch, serving fresh and healthy dishes and snacks.

“We’re still in the initial stages of our design, but we’re pulling from inspiration that’s rooted in the history of women’s colleges in Boston,” says Yasmin Shahida, a member of the Wing’s communications team.

The Wing was founded by Audrey Gelman, who worked on campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Scott Stringer, before opening the first location with her co-founder Lauren Kassan in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in the fall of 2016. Just over two years later and the company has grown to include four additional locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, D.C., and San Fransisco, with plans to open more in Los Angeles, London, Toronto, Seattle, and Chicago, in addition to Boston.

To say that Boston gals are looking forward to the opening could be an understatement, considering the buzz surrounding yesterday’s announcement. It came via a creatively staged literary scavenger hunt, which featured six golden tickets offering free memberships hidden in books in local independent bookstores. Clues to their whereabouts were posted on Instagram and included the store location as well as riddles for identifying the specific title containing the ticket.

Here’s one of the clues, so you get the idea: “Underground railroad safe house hostess, journalist, and civil war nurse—this multifaceted woman almost passed away from typhoid before finding fame as a woman of letters. Find a golden ticket in a copy of her little seminal coming-of-age story.” It led seekers to the Brookline Booksmith, then to a copy of Little Women by Louise May Alcott.

Image provided by The Wing

All six tickets were claimed within one hour of the post going live.

But even those who didn’t win a membership did not walk away empty-handed. Grace Hagerty, a student at BU raced to the Brookline Booksmith within a half hour of the announcement to find the tickets already claimed. But while she was there, she met three other women also on the hunt and they all decided to tweet at The Wing which was then retweeted by CEO Audrey Gelman herself. The women have made plans to meet up for drinks, so even without a membership the networking has begun.

https://twitter.com/audreygelman/status/1070375588702158848