Chilly Coffee Club brings booze-free day parties to Charlotte
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A previous Chilly Coffee Club meetup from above. Photo: Courtesy of Rico Marcelo
Hundreds of Charlotteans are swapping cocktails for cold plunges at Chilly Coffee Club.
Why it matters: Wellness-focused social events and experiences are on the rise. Chilly Coffee Club is a morning party that blends house music with wellness activities and caffeine.
Held monthly, Chilly Coffee Club events feature cold plunges, saunas, coffee, house music and a mix of local wellness vendors.
Driving the news: The next event is Saturday, March 29 from 10am-1pm at Trio.
- Morning Miles Run Club will kick off the event with a 9am run.
- There'll be coffee from Jags Head, wellness services like chiropractic adjustments and B12 shots, CBD/THC mocktails and treats from local businesses like Raw Bites by Risa.
The vibe: Chilly Coffee Club founder Justin Kelsey tells Axios the event will feel just like Trio would at 1am, except it'll be 10am on a Saturday.
- Three DJs will play sets on the main dance floor. Vendors will be upstairs, with plunges and saunas on the patio.
How it works: Saunas and cold plunges are first-come, first-served.
- Wellness services require reservations, which fill up quickly.
- General admission ($30) includes everything above. A VIP ticket ($55) grants skip-the-line entry, a pre-event yoga flow, and a reserved spot for one wellness service.
- Tickets are on sale now.
Flashback: Kelsey launched Chilly Coffee Club in November 2024 after feeling tapped out of the city's social scene.
"Everything seemed to revolve around drinking," he said. "We didn't have much of a social culture outside of that."
- The first event was held at a friend's parking lot. He threw together a few cold plunges, brought coffee, and gathered eight wellness vendors and a DJ.
"I didn't want it to feel like a wellness fair. I wanted it to feel like a day party that made you more productive."
- He invited 20 friends. Friends invited friends. 80 people showed up.
- He added saunas at the next event in December and attendance doubled. By the third event, hundreds were showing up.
- The most recent event in February took place at Resident Culture South End. Kelsey says he hopes to keep hosting them at other big local venues.
Between the lines: Chilly Coffee Club draws inspiration from other wellness-centered social events in other cities, like Coffee & Chill, which hosts pop-ups in Miami, San Diego and Austin, or Pups & Chill Morning Club in Miami and AM Radio in LA.
The big picture: Social wellness is gaining momentum, whether through events like Chilly Coffee Club, sober dance parties like Daybreaker — which came to Charlotte twice last year — or the explosion of communal bathhouses, like Sauna House in Wesley Heights.
What we're watching: Morning coffee shop parties with DJs are also popping up at cafes around Charlotte.
- Several include Coffee Beats at Salud Cerveceria, The Coffee Set by 4C at Lottie's and The Morning Mix by Charlotte Social Club and Radical Grove, which will host its first event in April.
The bottom line: Younger generations are drinking less, and they're thirsty for social experiences that don't revolve around alcohol.