After Decades of Drinks and Laughs, Is It Last Call at the Friars Club?

“I don’t want the Friars Club name to die,” said Catsimatidis, a former member.

Aidala said a promising offer in discussion involves Charlie Palmer, the chef whose company operates several restaurants across the country, including in Times Square. Under that deal, Palmer would operate a public restaurant on the first floor of the club, keeping the rest of the building for members.

But the club’s plan would become more complicated if the judge handling the foreclosure filing approves the lender’s effort to get a third-party property manager to oversee the building. And some former members are skeptical that, even if a rescue bidder steps in, the club will be able to lure back enough of the old guard to keep the place operating.

“There have been various attempts to revive, renew, reimagine the club,” said Steve Beninati, a former member. “Whether you look at it from a financial perspective or from a more emotional perspective, none of them have ever worked.”

But Marvin Scott, a senior correspondent for PIX11 News in New York and the club’s “prior” (i.e., vice president), said things are not so dire. He said he likes to imagine the club as being like Jack and Rose in the film “Titanic,” holding onto the railing as the ship sinks.

But the ending is different for the S.S. Friars Club, he predicted. In this story, he said, “We’re not going to hit the water.”