Step inside the sleek, dark-painted building of the Black Rock Social Club and walk the concrete “red carpet.” Following it will lead you past the dining area’s gleaming bar, into a massive space that includes golf and flight simulators, a stage, and plenty of space to gather.
If that’s not enough, the venue also includes 20 flat-screen TVs and will soon have an 18 x 12-foot “video wall,” perfect for viewing major sports events or movies. If you’re looking for a quieter experience, you can shoot pool in the smaller room off of the dining area.
Decorated in red, black, and gold, the Black Rock Social Club’s decor includes a martini glass logo and aims to be “where luxury meets fun” on the Seacoast—but it’s far from stuffy.
“It’s like if the One Hundred Club and Dave & Buster’s had a baby,” jokes Christine Schindler, director of operations at Anchor Management Group. The company owns and developed Black Rock and has developed hospitality, fitness, and entertainment properties in the Seacoast and beyond.
Located at 140 West Road in Portsmouth, the club offers a slice of glamour for Seacoast residents looking for a wide variety of entertainment options. Opening in December, it aims to attract a maximum of 1,500 members, but plans to freeze that number at 250 initially. Individuals and businesses can purchase memberships at a discount through January 2026.
According to Alex Choquette, president of Anchor Management Group, his vision of the club evolved several times since he bought the former Blitz Trampoline Park building in spring of 2021 for $3 million, according to city tax records. Originally, the building was designed to have two floors and office space. Ultimately, he decided on a single-level design and concept that would offer games and live talent, and serve as a conduit for philanthropy.
“When we purchased the property, I kept trying to figure out what we're going to do with a 17,500-square-foot building. I didn’t know where we’d end up, but knew we wanted to create something different with a venue where we could help the community raise awareness and give back with community outreach,” says Choquette.
The club’s activities list reads like an arcade dream: golf and multi-sport simulators, digital darts, axe-throwing, fighter-jet simulators, pool, shuffleboard, ping-pong, and more.
“It’s designed basically so you have a lot of fun,” Choquette says. “The axe throwing and other games are really simple. They have electronic scoring so there’s no cheating,” he says with a laugh. “We offer more than 200 different games.”
Schindler and Choquette say they didn’t create Black Rock with any specific demographic in mind. Instead, they view it as a local venue designed to attract Seacoast-area residents ages 21 and up.
Robert Hathaway, 27, an army veteran and Portsmouth resident, signed up for the social membership after hearing about it from friends and family.
“It’s something new to do besides going downtown,” he says. “The games, the music — it’s a cool spot.”
Memberships for Every Lifestyle
Choquette emphasizes that Black Rock does not aim to be exclusionary, and describes it as a “membership-based club” rather than a “members-only” club. The base social membership starts at $199 per month. Black Rock also offers executive and business memberships.
“The membership gets you access to the building,” Choquette says. “You can use all the facilities. You can bring unlimited guests. You have access to play all the games, but you have to pay for the food and beverage.”
Unlike other social clubs, you do not have to spend a food and beverage minimum, nor do members “vote” you in.
The club plans to welcome members on Thursday and Friday evenings, and will open at noon on weekends. And to keep things fresh, Choquette already has themes, comedy acts, and parties planned.
“We have seasonal party themes,” Choquette says, “like Great Gatsby, Las Vegas, black tie, red carpet, and beach themes.”
Membership will have its privileges. The club designed an app that allows guests to reserve game times. Members can also reserve a space for their favorite wine in the club’s wine locker. And Black Rock even offers use of a 14-person van that will pick up and drop off business and executive members located within a six-mile radius of West Road.
Fun With a Purpose
Before the venue opened, Schindler and Choquette connected with more than 100 local nonprofits. Their business model isn’t focused on asking their members to fundraise—instead they want to celebrate organizations and people in the community who dedicate their time to helping others.
“We’ve managed a lot of different businesses over the years,” Choquette says, “and now we want to operate a great social club and help out the community any way we can.”
So far, Black Rock has hosted Haven, GoodWork, and the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center. The team also plans to host appreciation events for teachers.
“Volunteers work hard. There’s not much of a benefit other than they’re giving back to the community,” he says. So, we do community events for them, for free.”
Black Rock is also excited to offer nonprofits space to host fundraising events and recently raised money for the Robert Irvine Foundation, which supports veterans and active-duty service members.
How Black Rock Got Its Name
Many people associate the name “Black Rock” with the global investment company, but Choquette chuckles when he hears rumors about the venue’s name and origin.
Although the building may appear to look like a giant rock, the name actually came to be after Choquette researched hundreds of other names.
“We came up with a name that people recognize and matched the building color,” he says. “Once we painted the building dark gray and black with the white stripe, the name just came to us.”
Schindler and Choquette have 21 years of experience working together on various projects, and are excited to bring world-class entertainment with a purpose to Portsmouth.
“Our business success is based on trying to be a good steward to the community, and treating our team with respect,” Choquette says.
Black Rock Social Club
140 West Road, Portsmouth
https://www.blackrocksocial.com/