First I would like to commend our President Marcia Feeney,she is open to any question
asked, if she does not know the answer she gets it and responds. Thank you Marcia
Countryside Members:
-----There is probably no area of club food and beverage operations that generate as much debate as food and beverage minimums. Food and beverage minimums are imposed on club members as a way to encourage year-round and regular participation in the club’s dining facilities. Obviously, those members who always spend more than the minimum do not object as strongly.
One of the differences between restaurants and a country club is that a member pays dues or maintenance fees and expect a certain level of service in their clubs food and beverage outlets. A club must have enough employees on hand to sustain that level of service, even if the club loses money due to excess labor or food costs. Countryside, as do many clubs, make great efforts to contain those costs, but must live with the reality that these expectations do come at an expense.
Most public restaurants fall within a category of fine dining, family dining, fast food or catering. Within these categories are very specific and specialized menus, equipment, staff, seating, organization and training. These restaurants become highly efficient in their own particular niche.
A country club provides all of the above mentioned types of service – and often times is asked to do it simultaneously. We may host a banquet while offering a bar menu in the lounge. This requires versatile menus, staff, equipment, training and facilities. The club does not have the luxury of concentrating on just one type of dining experience. This comes at a cost.
Additionally, as a private club, we are limited serving 1,133 homeowners. Public restaurants have the ability to serve and market to tens of thousands of people. There are costs associated with providing our members with the facilities, activities and services they want, even if they only use them once in a while. Most clubs want long-term employees. Members enjoy the “club experience” with name recognition from servers. Food waste also becomes a problem, as it becomes a guessing game as to when the members are going to eat at the club. Clubs try to be a “home away from home” thereby not requiring reservations. The members know that the club will seat them regardless. So food preparation becomes a guessing game. Waste tends to be much higher in clubs. This also comes at a cost.
Good servers work in public restaurants – not clubs, unless they plan on staying for a period of time, because they tend to make much more money in cash tips at a restaurant. Bartenders in particular make much more in tips in restaurants verses clubs. So we have to get good employees to stay at our club using different tactics…namely a much higher hourly wage. This also comes at a cost.
It is true that Countryside lost about $358,000 in 2007. Comparing that loss to other southwest Community Interest Realty Association clubs in our area (Countryside is a CIRA), the average food and beverage department loss was $357,000…well within industry averages. The average stand-alone, tax exempt (501C) club in southwest Florida (e.g. Pelican Bay, Bay Colony, Windstar, etc.) was $412,000. The average departmental loss for ALL country clubs within Florida was $717,800. In Boca alone, that average balloons to a $1.725 million dollar operating loss in the food and beverage department.
One advantage that Countryside has over all of the other clubs, is that our average F&B loss per membership was only $317. The average Food & Beverage loss per membership for all SW-FL CIRAs was $370, and the stand-alone, tax-exempt clubs in SW Florida average F&B loss was $710 per membership. The average loss for all Florida Country Clubs was $980 per membership, and for the Boca Raton area clubs, the average loss per membership was only $1,980. Regarding minimums in 2007, the average minimum for a SW-FL CIRA club was $580; a stand-alone, tax-exempt, club’s average minimum was $1,110; the average minimum for all country clubs within Florida was $1,100; and the average minimum for the Boca Raton clubs was $1,560. Countryside’s minimum for fiscal year 2007 was $500.
The $600 food and beverage minim
Food and beverage minimums help in several ways. The minimum insures a certain participation level in our dining room / lounge area. This, in turn, allows the club to sustain a higher level of service and food quality. Additionally, many of the costs in food and beverage are “fixed” rather than “variable”. With these fixed costs, greater usage (more income) benefits a stronger income to expense ratio.
There are many reasons for a food and beverage minimum, and I do not intend to argue the philosophical reasons behind maintaining a minimum. An explanation behind the minimum was needed based upon the current atmosphere. Minimums are a necessary function of most private clubs. However, as with anything, there are some very successful clubs that do not have any minimum spending requirements.
Private club food and beverage operations are expensive to operate and difficult to manage. We have many members with varying culture, tastes, preferences, and economic backgrounds. Trying to mix and match menus, service and activities to provide a balanced experience is the ultimate objective – and often times a moving target!
As always, if you ever have questions regarding your club, please do not hesitate to call me and ask. Respectfully, Michael Bradfield GM / COO
