NEWARK -- Deal making was different when the Newark Club was new, and Harry Prott had just started working there as a 27-year-old waiter.
"People don't do lunches the way they used to," said Prott, now 51 and general manager of the private eating club on the 22nd floor of a downtown Newark office building. "It used to be two martinis and a handshake and it was done. Now, it's 10 emails and an attorney."
And now, it's the Newark Club that's done.
After 24 years of receptions, business and industry gatherings, and power lunches perched atop One Newark Center, the Newark Club has served its last Caesar salad and poured its last glass of chardonnay.
What had been a private luncheon club for a who's who of lawyers, politicians and business people that doubled as reception hall with breathtaking views, served its last lunch in December, and hosted its last event -- a wedding reception -- on Saturday night.
On Tuesday, a crew from the Michael Amodeo & Company auction house was doing an inventory of the countless plates and saucers, knives and forks, tables and chairs, and other items to go on sale Wednesday afternoon at the club. A Kimball baby grand piano, bottles of booze and even the club's little golden Buddha are all on the block.
The owner of One Newark Center, a Manhattan investment group for which Mack-Cali runs the building, is also the owner of the club, said Prott. So with martini sales down and membership having fallen below 400 from a peak of about 1,300, Prott said the owners decided to close the club and lease its 18,000 square feet as office space with unparalleled views.
Soon, like the 2,000-plus brides and grooms who cut their cake and soloed on the club's inlaid wooden dance floor, businesswomen and men will be able to gaze out floor-to-ceiling windows at the views of Manhattan to the east, the bending Passaic River to the south, the Watchung Mountains to the west, and rooftops throughout all of Newark and beyond.
Notable nuptial celebrations there included those of New Jersey telepundit Steve Adubato Jr., and U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., whose late father was among the countless Garden State politicians to hold fundraisers at the club, said Prott. On more than one occasion, Prott added, the club had room enough for three current or former New Jersey governors at one time.
"I'd have (Tom) Kean and (Brendan) Byrne in the back, and (Jim) Florio out here," said Prott, sitting on a soon-to-be-sold chair in the club's Metropolitan Room. "Chris Christie would have all his holiday parties here when he was U.S. attorney."
Christie's lower-key successor as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, Paul Fishman, was a member before becoming U.S. attorney, Prott said.
Queen Latifah threw a party there, and fellow Newark native Whitney Houston's funeral repast was held at the club after her death in 2012, said Prott.
For such rarefied air, the club's annual membership fee was a down-to-earth $350.
"For the privilege of coming up here for lunch," Prott said, summarizing the benefits.
Booking the Newark Club for an event was considerably costlier, with a typical Saturday night wedding running about $25,000, including food, but not entertainment.
Prott himself was recently married, and he and his wife, Annabella, just moved from Harrison to Sayreville. He said he's had offers to run other establishments, but declined to name names. And the Newark native was in no rush to decide what to do next, other than spending more time on his photography.
"I'll figure that out in a couple of weeks," said Prott, amid tables piled with the tools of the hospitality trade. "I'm still trying to get rid of the rest of this stuff."
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.