New York networking startup revives vision behind a dormant service mark, building niche communities for remote workers and founders in underutilized spaces
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, August 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Tavern Community Coworking Corp., a New York-based membership network for founders, entrepreneurs, and remote workers, has secured the service mark for A Physical Social Network® (99003160), the slogan previously used by WeWork during its early growth years. Unlike WeWork’s business model, which was built on leasing office space, Tavern sidesteps real estate expenses entirely by establishing partnerships with businesses throughout New York City with underutilized space, including restaurants, hotels, and office-based companies, to create local hubs for communal work and life.
Because Tavern’s business model is asset-light, its primary focus is on cultivating relationships between members, making the business about human connection rather than space. “We aren’t investing in physical infrastructure, but we are investing in social infrastructure,” Tavern CEO Benji Schwartz explained. “The community is built around structured activities and routines, such as weekly communal lunch, where members share recent wins, make asks of the community, and give props to people who have helped them on their journeys.”
The Tavern Community app, built by Tavern CTO and Y Combinator alum Frank Albanese, enables members to create and host their own communities through IRL meetups in underutilized spaces, gatherings that might otherwise cost thousands of dollars to produce.
The spaces that host the Tavern Community also benefit. For example, Tavern’s first office-based partnership, with EdgeStudio.com, has brought new life to the recording studio’s office in the heart of Times Square, mostly empty since employees started working remotely during the pandemic. “We love having Tavern members use our space,” said EdgeStudio.com CEO David Goldberg. “It makes our office more lively, and it helps us build relationships with dedicated founders who otherwise might not hear about us. It’s basically free marketing.”
A Network of Cohorts
Instead of one broad coworking community, Schwartz’s vision of A Physical Social Network is built around smaller, niche cohorts—including pre-seed and seed founders, solopreneurs, and AI researchers and builders—embedded within a larger ecosystem. This model promotes valuable connections between members who have things in common.
“Tavern made the best warm introduction to a top-tier VC that I’ve ever received,” said Tavern Founding Member Lucia Mari Sanguino, cofounder and CEO of AIVA Tech, an agentic intelligence platform for hotels that recently closed a $1.5M pre-seed round.
“What makes Tavern truly special is the community,” added Paula Rodriguez Jou, cofounder of AIVA Tech. “It’s warm, and it feels like we have people around us who genuinely care about us as people—not just as founders.”
Tavern Community, A Modern Successor
After WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann’s departure from the company in 2019, WeWork pivoted away from its original, community-focused branding as A Physical Social Network and embraced a more transactional, flexible office space identity. The company allowed its service mark to expire in April 2022, opening the door for another startup to pick up the torch. Schwartz was the first to file for the mark, positioning Tavern as the modern successor to the original vision of coworking as A Physical Social Network for builders and creators.
Schwartz conceived the idea for Tavern in 2021 while working remotely as a consultant at Deloitte. In the aftermath of the pandemic, he found the social isolation of working from home unbearable and began hosting coworking events at his local synagogue on the Upper West Side for young professionals looking to work alongside others. The events quickly gained traction, revealing a deep appetite for consistent, community-driven work experiences.
Schwartz and Albanese founded Tavern in February 2023 and spent two years hosting events, building momentum before the membership launch in July 2025.
As Tavern secures the trademark for A Physical Social Network, Schwartz goes back to his animating goal, to reduce social isolation and create strong relationships: “People feel less connected than ever, and there has never been a greater need for WeWork’s original vision of a capitalist kibbutz, a real community.”
ABOUT TAVERN COMMUNITY
Tavern Community is a membership-based social network with access to hybrid coworking spaces. Founded in 2023 by Benji Schwartz and Frank Albanese, Tavern partners with restaurants, hotels, and office-based businesses to create local hubs for communal work and connection. The Tavern Community app allows members to build and host niche communities through in-person gatherings. Learn more at taverncommunity.com.
Nina Dietrich
Nina Dietrich LLC
Nina@ninadietrich.com
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