For years, The Outsiders Social Club existed without walls. It lived through pop-up events, like Flwrs and Invite Only — events built to celebrate local changemakers and offer space to lounge, network, and enjoy something rarely found in public spaces: safety and connection without performance.
Now, that vision is becoming permanent. Founded by Deejay Nimrod, The Outsiders Social Club is preparing to open its first physical home in Westport at 427 Westport Rd., with plans to launch around March 1, pending final approvals.
The social club is a membership-driven space built for creatives, remote workers, and entrepreneurs who want productivity and belonging without having to perform or code-switch. The space will live somewhere between a coffee shop and a co-working office, but intentionally outside the culture of both.
Traditional co-working spaces, Nimrod said, have become inaccessible. “Why does it cost $400 just to have an office?” he asked. “At that point, you might as well just work from home.” “And coffee shops, while affordable, rarely create real connection,” he explained. “People sit near each other, not with each other.”
Outsider Social Club is designed to close that gap.
By day, it will function as a coffee-forward workspace. By night, it becomes a lounge, a place to connect, socialize, and unwind. And on Sundays, the space will slow down entirely, shifting toward wellness and mental health, with alcohol-free programming focused on rest and reset.
“I want a place that you can work and play out of,” Nimrod said. “You shouldn’t have to go to five different places just to live your life.”
The building itself mirrors that philosophy. Inside, guests will find two floors. The downstairs is clean, modern, and calm, designed for focus and everyday use, and will house the hybrid coffee shop and bar. There will be café seating alongside dedicated desk spaces for solo work and intimate meetings.
Upstairs will be more expressive, designed for artists, creatives, and people who thrive on energy rather than silence. It will feature collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms, and a dedicated area curated for gatherings and shared experiences. The goal is not to force everyone into the same mood, but to let people find themselves inside the space.
“Depending on what personality you are,” Nimrod said, “you’re going to feel like home based on what floor you’re on.”
Home is the word he returns to most.
And that desire for home is rooted in his own story. Growing up in Kansas City, Nimrod often felt caught between worlds, “too Black for the white folks and too proper for the Black folks,” as he described it. In different cities, including Austin and Miami, he experienced both radical inclusion and rigid racial segregation. That contrast shaped his vision, reinforcing a commitment to community as a core principle rather than an abstract ideal.
“When you can feel safe to be unapologetically you,” he said, “there’s power in that.”
Outsider Social Club is also built around commitment. The space will be membership-driven, though anyone can enter with a day pass at essentially the cost of a coffee.
Founding memberships will be offered to the first 75 supporters at an invitation rate of $55 per month, which locks in that price for life and includes priority access when the Hub opens, along with perks like guest passes and café credits. Student memberships will also be offered at a reduced $35 monthly rate for a limited time. Once the founding memberships have all been secured, Core memberships will be available for $79 per month (or $711 annually).
Nimrod initially imagined the project living in the Crossroads, drawn to its visibility and creative reputation. But when he stepped into the Westport space, something shifted. He sat inside it for nearly 30 minutes, taking in the light, the layout, and the feeling of the room before arriving at a quiet certainty.
“I think this is home,” he said.
For a project called Outsider Social Club, built for people who often feel like outsiders even in familiar places, opening a permanent home in Westport carries its own symbolism. Against the backdrop of a federal RICO case that has brought renewed attention to years of systemic anti-Black exclusion in Kansas City’s nightlife scene, the presence of this Black-owned social space — defined by inclusion and belonging — holds an even greater significance.
Its presence draws attention to a quieter reality about the city’s social landscape: access has often been conditional. For many, participation in public life has required adjustment, in tone, appearance, or behavior, as the price of entry. Outsider Social Club disrupts that pattern by building a space where belonging is not something to earn, but something assumed.
