English-first private members’ club Nookyard opens in Bucharest

Nookyard, an English-first daytime private members’ club targeting founders, freelancers, and creatives, has opened in Bucharest’s Armenian Quarter. The new club was launched with an initial investment of over EUR 20,000 and plans to expand through a network of locations in Bucharest and other Romanian cities.

Nookyard officially opened on July 20 inside Mélange Café, located in a villa on Oltarului street. The application-based club can accommodate 35 members at the same time, but the number can grow as access is organized around sessions, with the venue offering full-day, morning-only, afternoon-only, and Saturday-only memberships, as well as day passes. 

The business was fully financed by co-founders Ionuț Alexandru Stanciu and Anca Buta, with no external investors. The initial investment covered the development of an in-house membership and management platform, as well as branding, advertising, marketing, and launch communication. 

“Because the club is hosted inside Mélange, a café with its own history that has been running successfully for almost a year, we didn't carry the typical costs of opening a physical space from scratch. Our capital went where it matters most for this model: systems, communication, and operations,” co-founder Ionuț Alexandru Stanciu told Romania-insider.com.

The dedicated platform manages applications, memberships, billing, QR-based check-ins, capacity, and daily operations.

“We wanted to build that room for Bucharest, a daytime club with its own rhythm, its own ritual, and a real community at the center of it,” Stanciu explained, describing Nookyard as a “third place” between home and the office.

Unlike a traditional coworking space, the club places its focus on community rather than renting desks, according to the founder. 

He said, “There is an application, a membership, a daily ritual (you scan a QR code at the door and your coffee is brought to you), and a community of founders, freelancers, and creatives who actually know each other. We sell belonging, not desks.”

Nookyard sold around eight memberships during its first three days of operation. Applicants are assessed based on what they are building and what they expect from the community rather than primarily on their professional titles.

“We look less at job titles and more at fit. Every applicant tells us what they do, what they're building, and what they're looking for from a community. We're looking for people who are actively building something, a company, a practice, a craft, and who want to be part of a room, not just occupy a seat in it,” Stanciu explained.

The club adopted an English-first model to attract both Romanian professionals working internationally and Bucharest’s community of expats, remote workers, and foreign founders. It is not targeting a predetermined ratio between Romanian and international members, however.

The founders plan to develop Nookyard as a network of smaller clubs hosted within existing venues instead of opening a single large flagship location. The concept is expected to expand first across Bucharest and subsequently to other Romanian cities, with a membership eventually providing access to all partner locations.

“One membership that lets you walk into any Nookyard partner location and simply sit down and work,” Stanciu said. “That portability, backed by our own platform, is what makes the model scalable without losing what makes each room feel personal.”

Nookyard’s co-founders brought together their experience in technology, community building, hospitality, and design. Ionuț Alexandru Stanciu is the founder and developer of Briedo.com and the creator of CafeauaDeSambata.ro, a recurring event that brings strangers together over coffee. He developed Nookyard’s membership platform and oversees the club’s business development.

Co-founder Anca Buta owns Mélange Café and is also the entrepreneur behind IconicWood, a Romanian company specializing in premium wood flooring and custom woodwork for projects in Romania and abroad.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photos: courtesy of Ionuț Alexandru Stanciu) ...