The DTLA Dinner Club x Westminster Teak: Designing Spaces Where Connection Happens

On a rooftop in Downtown Los Angeles, something unusual happens each week. Thirty strangers gather around a shared table while a renowned chef cooks just steps away. It’s not about exclusivity or status—it’s about connection.

“You’d be surprised what happens when you put the right people together in the right environment,” says Josh Gray-Emmer, founder of DTLA Dinner Club. The mission is clear: to fight loneliness by creating real, lasting human connections. What began in 2010 as weekly dinners between neighbors has grown into one of Los Angeles’ most sought-after experiences. Today, more than 67,000 people are part of the community. Seats fill in seconds, and waitlists often exceed 400 to 500 people for a single dinner.

Unlike most dining experiences in the city, there is no way to pay for a seat at the table. Each dinner is free. Chefs donate their time, and ingredients are covered by the founder; guests simply bring something to share. That model, simple in concept but difficult to sustain, is part of what has made The DTLA Dinner Club a cultural phenomenon.

The season runs from April through October, with around 20 dinners and 30 guests each night. But what truly defines the experience isn’t just the food—it’s the environment. Every seat is assigned manually by Josh, mixing professions, stories, and perspectives. Couples are split up. Strangers sit together. The goal isn’t the comfort of familiarity, but to create shared moments.

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The Space: Designing for Connection

If the mission is to bring people together, the space plays a fundamental role in making that possible.

When Josh began investing in the rooftop around 2019, he understood that the environment needed to do more than look good—it needed to feel right. Comfortable, flexible, inviting. A place where people could dine, but also stay, talk, and connect.
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“I wanted it to be sexy, and like couches, and like a lounge that you would find somewhere, on a really hot club-type rooftop. They (Westminster Teak) delivered that for me.”

To bring that vision to life, he found a partner in Westminster Teak.

Starting with a simple rooftop image and a few measurements, the Westminster Teak team developed multiple layout proposals using pieces from the Maya Collection—designed as teak outdoor furniture for high-use, social spaces. The goal was clear: create a setting that could host 30 people without losing intimacy or flow.
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“I sent them a basic image of my rooftop with some measurements I took myself. They took their entire collection and gave me multiple possible layouts to help me figure out what I wanted.”

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The result is a modular environment designed to adapt to the rhythm of each gathering—structured enough for a dinner, yet relaxed enough to encourage conversation.

But beyond layout, there was a critical decision behind the furniture itself: choosing materials and a brand capable of withstanding heavy use, outdoor exposure, and the passage of time—without compromising the experience.
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“I discovered that teak is really what you want to go with. If you're looking for something that's sturdy, that's hardy, that's sustainable, environmentally friendly, that's going to last for 30 years if you take care of it,” Josh explains.

In that process, Westminster Teak became more than a supplier—it became a partner in shaping the space.

It was really important that the furniture help with that dynamic, of making everyone feel comfortable, and together, an idea that came to life through the selection of the Maya Collection.

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A New Season, A Subtle Refresh

With the start of a new season in April, the rooftop evolves without losing its essence.

For this new chapter of DTLA Dining Club, Westminster Teak deepens its involvement by refreshing all covers across the Maya Collection sets—bringing a renewed aesthetic to the space. A subtle but meaningful update, designed to make the environment feel fresh and ready for new stories, new conversations, and new connections.

This season, Westminster Teak also joins as a sponsor of five dinners, supporting a project that reflects its own values: creating spaces designed to last, and moments meant to be lived.

New season, new covers—the same place where shared experiences happen.

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Where Design Meets Experience

At its core, The DTLA Dinner Club isn’t about exclusivity in the traditional sense. It’s not about access, status, or visibility. It’s about creating the conditions for something genuine to happen.
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“The entire purpose of The DTLA Dinner Club, the whole reason we exist, is to build long-lasting friendships and to fight loneliness,” Josh explains. And then adds what might be the most important ingredient: “I know you can do that—by putting people in a space where they can just be themselves.”

That kind of outcome doesn’t happen by chance. It requires intention—both in how people are brought together and in the environment that supports those interactions.

Because in the end, it’s not just about a table, a rooftop, or a dinner. It’s about creating a space where people want to stay. Where they can relax, connect, and engage naturally.

That’s what turns an experience into something memorable. And that’s what design—when done right—makes possible.

Discover the Maya Collection and explore how thoughtful outdoor design can transform the way people gather, connect, and experience a space.

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