Eligibility
Membership shall be open to any person of sound judgment, sufficient appetite, and a demonstrated willingness to consume oysters. The Club recognizes no distinction of rank, profession, residence, or preferred mignonette.
THE600
Oyster Club
NEW YORK CITYSix Hundred Oysters.
Twelve Months.
One Modest Obligation.
An institution devoted to the restoration of a respectable New York appetite. Membership is open to all persons prepared to undertake the obligation.
Apply for MembershipNo fee. One card. Considerable expectations.
600
OYSTERS PER YEAR12
MONTHS TO UNDERTAKE IT1
OFFICIAL OYSTER EATER CARD
OYSTERS PER YEAR12
MONTHS TO UNDERTAKE IT1
OFFICIAL OYSTER EATER CARD
01 / THE HISTORICAL STANDARD
An old appetite.
A new institution.
Around 1900, New Yorkers reportedly consumed approximately six hundred oysters per person each year. Historian Rob Lukens’s account, reprinted by PA Eats in 2007, gives this figure; a 2025 history by Discovering NYC repeats it.
It is a reported historical estimate, not a verified tally for every resident. A dozen a week would be 624 a year. The Club has adopted the rounder figure, in the interests of administrative restraint.
Founded by Shuck It! in 2026, the Society takes its inspiration from that former appetite. It makes no claim to have been founded in 1900, or to possess any authority over the city’s dining arrangements.
Sources: Rob Lukens, “When Oysters Were King” (2007); Tess E. Baldwin, “Shucks!” (2025). The underlying period count has not been independently established here.
02 / THE GOVERNING INSTRUMENT
The 600 Oyster Club
Articles of Membership &
Rules Governing Consumption
Admission
An applicant shall supply a name and declare an intention to consume six hundred oysters within the twelve months following admission. No entrance examination shall be administered. Admission records an undertaking; it does not certify prior accomplishment.
The Annual Obligation
Members shall endeavor to consume no fewer than six hundred oysters in each membership year. This amounts to approximately twelve per week, with reasonable accommodation for holidays, financial hardship, and periods of regrettable judgment. No sitting, pace, or competitive performance is prescribed.
Acceptable Oysters
Raw, steamed, baked, grilled, fried, and otherwise properly prepared oysters shall qualify. Each oyster may be entered once, irrespective of the number of courses in which it is remembered. Clams shall not qualify. This distinction is final.
The Record
Consumption shall be recorded upon the honor system, in a manner of the member’s choosing. The Club reserves the right to question implausible claims but has neither the staff nor the inclination to investigate them. A declaration of completion, should one be made, remains a member’s report and shall not be represented as independently verified.
Conduct at Table
Members shall observe ordinary restaurant etiquette, tip appropriately, and refrain from making their undertaking an unpleasant experience for others. Staff shall not be required to acknowledge the Card, explain the Articles, or produce oysters at a price the member considers historically appropriate.
Rights & Privileges
A member may possess and display an official Oyster Eater Card and derive such satisfaction as the association affords. The Card is the sole tangible benefit of membership. It conveys no discounts, preferential seating, special privileges, or authority whatsoever.
Censure & Other Proceedings
Knowingly entering clams, counting an oyster twice, demanding precedence by virtue of the Card, or persistent recitation of these Articles to an unwilling table may occasion censure, suspension, or expulsion. A member shall first be afforded an opportunity to submit a written explanation, which may be considered when administrative enthusiasm permits. An honest shortfall shall be regarded with disappointment rather than surprise.
Renewal
Membership shall be renewed annually upon reaffirmation of the six-hundred-oyster undertaking. The member’s year begins on the date of admission or renewal, as recorded on the Card. Neither an expired Card nor an unfinished tally shall be converted, by passage of time alone, into a certificate of achievement.
Issued under the modest authority of Shuck It!
Six hundred oysters. No further inducement.
03 / THE SOLE TANGIBLE BENEFIT
The Oyster
Eater Card.
A small document acknowledging a substantial intention. Individually inscribed. Suitable for a wallet. Of no assistance in obtaining a table.
Ivory stock, harbor navy, oyster rust, and the approved engraved oyster illustration. The reverse records precisely how little the bearer is entitled to.
SPECIMEN · YOUR CARD WILL BE PERSONALLY INSCRIBED
04 / ADMISSION TO THE SOCIETY
A declaration
will suffice.
The Club recognizes intention as sufficient grounds for admission. The oysters may follow in due course.
Your name, membership number, admission date, and acceptance of the Articles are saved in the Club’s private register. No email or payment is required. A copy of your card is kept on this browser when storage is available; download it for safekeeping. There is no account or cross-device recovery service.
THE 600 OYSTER CLUB · NOTICE OF ADMISSION
The application of
has been approved.
The Club expects much of you, but will verify very little.
Admitted upon a promise of future consumption.
This notice does not certify the annual requirement has been completed.
Your Oyster Eater Card
An undertaking, duly recorded.
High-resolution images: 2022 × 1275 pixels. Print at actual size: 85.60 × 53.98 mm. Front and reverse are supplied separately; align manually for two-sided printing.
GOOD COMPANY. CONSIDERED APPETITES.