September 1, 2013 By Kelsey McKinnon C Magazine
Michael and Xochi Birch, the young couple who sold social networking site Bebo.com to AOL in 2008, envisioned a place in the city that would merge old-school S.F. with the vibrant, entrepreneurial hotbed the city has become. To bring this dream to life, they called on design impresario Ken Fulk to overhaul the iconic 1907 Musto Plaza building (previously a marble warehouse) in Jackson Square into a modern-day social club and hotel.
This month, The Battery welcomes an eclectic group of authors, artists, professionals and socialites to the casual-dress, annual-dues club. (Hotel guests are also able to access many parts of the club as temporary members.) “I wanted the space to feel like it had been put together over a long period of time, full of eccentricities that reflect lives well lived,” says Fulk. On the first level is 717B, a white tablecloth establishment helmed by Executive Chef Jason Arbusto. Take the glass enclosed elevator to the second floor to find a quiet library, The Musto Bar (members-only), a study
(for intimate gatherings) and a parlor, which can accommodate up to 90 people. The third level boasts 12 luxury suites with three additional indoor/outdoor suites on the roof-deck mezzanine—a perfect perch to take in the America’s Cup. 717 Battery St., S.F.; thebatterysf.com. •