December 2017
www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress
443-359-7527
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
LEASING OR AN IN-HOUSE CONSULTANT? Clubs committee: Status quo no longer acceptable at Yacht Club restaurant By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer embers of the committee charged with advising the Board of Directors on food and beverage operations say the Ocean Pines Association is not capable of running the Yacht Club on its own and should hire a restaurant consulting firm or lease the facility to a local restaurateur. “Ocean Pines is a varied community of retired and younger families and the one thing they all want is good food prepared correctly in a timely fashion by servers that are attentive and friendly,” the committee says in a just completed annual report. “While their tastes and discretionary incomes may vary, we all want the Cove/Yacht Club to succeed and to be proud that we can bring family and friends and rest assured that they will be happy with their dining experience.” As part of its 14-page report detailing its activities during the last year, the Clubs Advisory Committee made a series of suggestions for improvements at the dining clubs. Topping the list of recommendations for board action was to either find a consultant to help the OPA make a go of it or lease the Yacht Club to someone who knows how to run a restaurant. Willingness to consider the leasing option is a first for the committee, perhaps a reflection of its frustration with the inconsistency of food quality and service at the OPA’s premier restaurant amenity. The committee didn’t pull any punches in its report regarding the failings of the Yacht Club. But the committee said it may be possible to have a high functioning restaurant to serve its members if the OPA finds the right consultant. “Although many will argue that Ocean Pines is not capable of running a restaurant, and the past couple
M
Abi’s DINER
years may lend credence to that argument, others feel that with the proper help, it can be done,” the committee said. Improvements to the amenity’s organizational structure are a must, the report says. A restaurant manager must be planning everything months in advance, including celebrations and menu changes. The committee cited as an example Veterans Day, which is celebrated in most restaurants, but not the Cove. “With all the veterans in OP land this place should be packed and a memorable experience will be shared and then you get repeat business. Make people feel welcome and wanted,” the report advises. A consulting firm would develop a business plan, hire and train the entire staff as needed, and oversee the operation until the OPA’s food and beverage manager is able to take over the day to day operations, the committee suggests. “If needed, the consultant would be available to make adjustments to the plan to assure it continues to be successful,” according to the report. The committee says one of its new members has extensive restaurant and consulting experience that aided the committee in determining how a consulting firm would be able to help support OPA food and beverage operations. The member has owned and operated three restaurants, two catering companies, and a deli over a 20-year period. He then went on to work for a consulting firm outside of Chicago as a senior business analyst. Part of his job was to analyze specific problems at failing restaurants and develop a plan to fix them. Many of those issues are the same ones currently affecting the Clubs of Ocean Pines, according to the year-end report.
Trash collection rate jumps 22.72 percent under new contract
The Board of Directors in its regular monthly meeting Nov. 30 approved a new three-year contract with Republic Services of Delmar for the collection of household trash and trash generated by the Ocean Pines Association at its various venues. The board unanimously accepted the recommendation of General Manager John Bailey to approve the proposal submitted by Republic Services over that of Chesapeake Waste Management. ~ Page 9
Bailey refocusing efforts on 2nd floor of Country Club General Manager John Bailey is refocusing his energies on making improvements to the second floor of the Country Club rather than both the upper level and the entrance area, a change in focus that might result in the reopening of the second floor sometime in 2018 in time for Ocean Pines’ 50th anniversary ~ Page 12 events.
Group proposes ‘quiet pool’ rules at Yacht Club
A group of Ocean Pines residents aggrieved by a Board of Directors’ decision earlier this year to open the formerly adults-only Yacht Club “Oasis” pool to all age groups seems reconciled to the notion that restoring the pool’s adults-only status is unlikely to occur. Instead, the working group, formed and headed by Ocean Pines resident Gary Miller, has recommended as a “best option” the creation of a what it calls “a true ‘Oasis” pool atmosphere at the Yacht Club, to be accomplished by instituting strict rules of conduct that would apply to everyone using that pool.
To Page 39
~ Page 14
SEAFOOD • PASTA • STEAK • BREAKFAST SERVED ALL DAY Breakfast • Lunch• Dinner • Dinner for Two $20 Everyday 3pm - Close (dine-in only) Dine In & Carry-Out • Available for Party Groups 10514 RaceTrack Road, Suite H, Ocean Pines, MD 21811 • www.abisdiner.com
Like Us On