The Ocean Pines Yacht Club faced plenty of criticism during its first year, from the dining room’s resemblance to a school cafeteria, to the lower-than-expected financial performance across the board.
Last year, the second for the new facility, the financials were closer to budgeted numbers, and the facility itself has been – slowly, but steadily – making key aesthetic improvements.
General Manager Bob Thompson said, in hindsight, the club might have opened too quickly. Construction finished just before Memorial Day and doors opened on the Friday of the busy holiday weekend.
“The magnitude of all the elements coming together and our lack of knowledge on the facility, from the heating system to the computers and even how to run the lights correctly – all of that created a challenge for the first year,” he said. “We settled in a little bit, but in that process we lost the context. We lost the understanding of the service side of things.”
Thompson said the “right management” was responsible for the turnaround, namely, Yacht Club Manager Jerry Lewis, who was hired last May.
Lewis, who has more than 30 years in the hospitality industry, said his biggest contribution has been strengthening “a team mentality.”
“In any business that you get into, you get into the day-to-day operations and sometimes you lose sight of exactly what you’re here for, and I think that happened to a certain degree here,” he said. “It’s just re-uniting and redirecting everyone into what our purpose is, and I think that’s the main thing that’s happened – just an emphasis on customer service.
“People appreciate that, and people come back and make good comments and that spreads,” he added. “And I absolutely love being here. How can you complain when you’re sitting here with this view?”
Thompson said the yacht club also started to grow into its chef, Tim Ulrich, in its second year and now has better “front-end, back-end synergy.”
“The hardest part was learning to balance the mix of product that meets the diversity of the community. We have the ability to offer steak night every night, but that’s a small portion of the community,” Thompson said.
Lewis said Ulrich is an incredible chef, and said his food is best experienced during the monthly “Corked Wine Pairing” and “Char Steakhouse” events.
“I’ve been in business for 30 years and worked overseas and with some very, very creative chefs, but Tim has blown them out of the water,” he said. “He’s done some things we these wine dinners that I never knew were possible before.”
The club had to learn how and when to rein that creativity in, something that has helped to lower food costs over time.
“Our menu is in itself a creative little piece of Tim,” Lewis said. “What I have found in my eight months here that, because of the newness of the operation, Tim was still feeling his way around – what can I provide, and what does the public want from me?
“I think we’re coming to grips with the fact that he knows what he can do, and now he knows what the public expects when they’re coming in here,” Lewis added.
Managing expenses – including labor costs, the single-biggest expense – is another area of improvement that Thompson credited to Lewis.
As of December, Thompson said the yacht club was still “in the black” financially, a substantial turnaround considering it was seeing red in September 2014.
“From my experience, I’ve had to spend a lot less time looking at the monthly numbers when it comes to this particular part of our operation, which is a relatively large one, because we have someone with that level and experience and expertise who has strong financial understanding of how to run a restaurant,” he said. “Jerry’s done a fantastic job of managing the team.”
Thompson said the association still needs to change the public perception that the yacht club is a private facility.
“The word is certainly getting out there with the banquets and events, catering, weddings, etc. With our a-la-carte business or day-to-day operations, however, there are a lot of people out there that don’t know we’re open to the public,” he said.
“The quality and consistency of the food and the consistency of the service is all starting to get out there to folks, but people understanding that we’re here and that they can come whether they live in the Pines or not, that’s probably one of our biggest challenges,” Thompson added.
Year three, Thompson said, will be the year the yacht club focuses on more subtle improvements, including the décor.
“First year was get open, second year was focus on service, the third year is sprucing the place up and customizing it a little bit,” Thompson said. “We’re right on plan for what we said we were going to do. What we’re ahead of plan on is the level of service and the consistency we’re able to offer under a regular basis, which is why our numbers are where they are.”
Thompson said he was aware of the “cafeteria” complaints, and that changes have been made – and more were coming.
“People want to compare this to other facilities. If you think about the sheer capacity that we have compared to any other facility – it’s so big it doesn’t have the [perceived] intimacy that they’re thinking of at other restaurants,” Thompson said.
“The other restaurants are required to offer that because they don’t have the capacity that we do. That’s where the differential is,” he continued. “What we need to do is create more intimate space within the overall space that we have, and that’s part of what this year’s goal is.”
He also offered a prediction for the new year: profitability.
“All indications are we’re going to end up at or outperforming the budget,” he said. “I’m very confident we’re going to end strong. We’re going to surprise some people.
“Under Jerry’s direction, the momentum has been awesome for us,” Thompson added. “I actually think we’re going to be ahead [of budget], which would just be a killer year for us. And what a phenomenal statement for his ability when that happens.”
For Lewis, the new manager is thrilled his “year of firsts” is nearly behind him.
“When you start a new job, you have that first year where everything a first – it’s my first Valentine’s Day, my first Christmas, my first Easter. I’m looking forward to having my year of firsts over with,” he said.
“Everybody’s got an opinion. Everybody’s got a thought of what they would expect. If we jumped on every single one of them, this place would look like a hodge-podge of I don’t know what. By taking our time and seeing what really is a good idea and what works for us, we’re going to move forward and we’re going to continue to be successful,” Lewis said.
Last year, the second for the new facility, the financials were closer to budgeted numbers, and the facility itself has been – slowly, but steadily – making key aesthetic improvements.
General Manager Bob Thompson said, in hindsight, the club might have opened too quickly. Construction finished just before Memorial Day and doors opened on the Friday of the busy holiday weekend.
“The magnitude of all the elements coming together and our lack of knowledge on the facility, from the heating system to the computers and even how to run the lights correctly – all of that created a challenge for the first year,” he said. “We settled in a little bit, but in that process we lost the context. We lost the understanding of the service side of things.”
Thompson said the “right management” was responsible for the turnaround, namely, Yacht Club Manager Jerry Lewis, who was hired last May.
Lewis, who has more than 30 years in the hospitality industry, said his biggest contribution has been strengthening “a team mentality.”
“In any business that you get into, you get into the day-to-day operations and sometimes you lose sight of exactly what you’re here for, and I think that happened to a certain degree here,” he said. “It’s just re-uniting and redirecting everyone into what our purpose is, and I think that’s the main thing that’s happened – just an emphasis on customer service.
“People appreciate that, and people come back and make good comments and that spreads,” he added. “And I absolutely love being here. How can you complain when you’re sitting here with this view?”
Thompson said the yacht club also started to grow into its chef, Tim Ulrich, in its second year and now has better “front-end, back-end synergy.”
“The hardest part was learning to balance the mix of product that meets the diversity of the community. We have the ability to offer steak night every night, but that’s a small portion of the community,” Thompson said.
Lewis said Ulrich is an incredible chef, and said his food is best experienced during the monthly “Corked Wine Pairing” and “Char Steakhouse” events.
“I’ve been in business for 30 years and worked overseas and with some very, very creative chefs, but Tim has blown them out of the water,” he said. “He’s done some things we these wine dinners that I never knew were possible before.”
The club had to learn how and when to rein that creativity in, something that has helped to lower food costs over time.
“Our menu is in itself a creative little piece of Tim,” Lewis said. “What I have found in my eight months here that, because of the newness of the operation, Tim was still feeling his way around – what can I provide, and what does the public want from me?
“I think we’re coming to grips with the fact that he knows what he can do, and now he knows what the public expects when they’re coming in here,” Lewis added.
Managing expenses – including labor costs, the single-biggest expense – is another area of improvement that Thompson credited to Lewis.
As of December, Thompson said the yacht club was still “in the black” financially, a substantial turnaround considering it was seeing red in September 2014.
“From my experience, I’ve had to spend a lot less time looking at the monthly numbers when it comes to this particular part of our operation, which is a relatively large one, because we have someone with that level and experience and expertise who has strong financial understanding of how to run a restaurant,” he said. “Jerry’s done a fantastic job of managing the team.”
Thompson said the association still needs to change the public perception that the yacht club is a private facility.
“The word is certainly getting out there with the banquets and events, catering, weddings, etc. With our a-la-carte business or day-to-day operations, however, there are a lot of people out there that don’t know we’re open to the public,” he said.
“The quality and consistency of the food and the consistency of the service is all starting to get out there to folks, but people understanding that we’re here and that they can come whether they live in the Pines or not, that’s probably one of our biggest challenges,” Thompson added.
Year three, Thompson said, will be the year the yacht club focuses on more subtle improvements, including the décor.
“First year was get open, second year was focus on service, the third year is sprucing the place up and customizing it a little bit,” Thompson said. “We’re right on plan for what we said we were going to do. What we’re ahead of plan on is the level of service and the consistency we’re able to offer under a regular basis, which is why our numbers are where they are.”
Thompson said he was aware of the “cafeteria” complaints, and that changes have been made – and more were coming.
“People want to compare this to other facilities. If you think about the sheer capacity that we have compared to any other facility – it’s so big it doesn’t have the [perceived] intimacy that they’re thinking of at other restaurants,” Thompson said.
“The other restaurants are required to offer that because they don’t have the capacity that we do. That’s where the differential is,” he continued. “What we need to do is create more intimate space within the overall space that we have, and that’s part of what this year’s goal is.”
He also offered a prediction for the new year: profitability.
“All indications are we’re going to end up at or outperforming the budget,” he said. “I’m very confident we’re going to end strong. We’re going to surprise some people.
“Under Jerry’s direction, the momentum has been awesome for us,” Thompson added. “I actually think we’re going to be ahead [of budget], which would just be a killer year for us. And what a phenomenal statement for his ability when that happens.”
For Lewis, the new manager is thrilled his “year of firsts” is nearly behind him.
“When you start a new job, you have that first year where everything a first – it’s my first Valentine’s Day, my first Christmas, my first Easter. I’m looking forward to having my year of firsts over with,” he said.
“Everybody’s got an opinion. Everybody’s got a thought of what they would expect. If we jumped on every single one of them, this place would look like a hodge-podge of I don’t know what. By taking our time and seeing what really is a good idea and what works for us, we’re going to move forward and we’re going to continue to be successful,” Lewis said.