Last night, in partnership with Empire Communities, Toronto Life invited an exclusive group of influencers, tastemakers and Maverick Originals to the Maverick Social Speakeasy, a hush-hush prohibition party at King West’s Escobar. It was the first in a series of pop-up bashes to debut developer Empire Communities’ new social club, eventually exclusive to only residents of Empire Maverick, a soon-to-be-revealed luxury condo across from the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Maverick Social will be a sophisticated space for residents and other members to both work and play—think Soho House meets WeWork, a place where you can host a business meeting, have a cocktail or do both at the same time.
Guests were invited to the event by way of authentic telegrams and handed member-only access cards for entry:
Upon arrival through a clandestine back-alley entrance, guests sipped on Maverick Moonshine, and other unique cocktails on offer:
The engraving station, where an artist wrote custom messages on branded flasks, was busy all night as guests requested Instagram handles and messages in other languages:
Guests noshed on Escobar favourites like oysters and Tiradito:
Bandleader Katie Hicks crooned through jazz classics and covers of pop hits like Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” which brought people to the dance floor:
Paul Golini, EVP Industry Relations and Co-founder of Empire Communities, Sue MacKay, Marketing VP at Empire Communities, Ken Hunt, publisher at Toronto Life and Dan Flomen, EVP Sales at Empire Communities:
The night’s VIP guests revelled late into the evening:
The Maverick Social will be orchestrated by an on-site Social Architect, responsible for curating events exclusively for Empire Maverick residents similar to those in the pilot series.
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