The Country Club of Buffalo traces its roots back to 1889, but a recent renovation project and implementation of an upcoming 15-year plan solidify its rightful place in the future.
Much can be said about the loyalty and pride members take in their club, but 98 percent of membership approving a $3.3 million renovation project to a pair of areas nobody really sees, speaks volumes. That’s only part of the story at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville, N.Y.
The other side of the historic club’s story is the love shown by people who’ve decided to make CCB their life’s work. General Manager Nick Markel is just one piece of that puzzle.
“This club was my first club job, the inspiration to change my major to hospitality, and the only club that would have brought me back to Buffalo,” Markel says. “I love this golf course and this club. Buffalo is a special place, and mostly because of the people.
He was quick to shift the credit to his staff who keep the historic club running smoothly.
“What makes CCB is our head valet, front office attendant, locker room attendants, pool director [51 years!], bar manager, captains, line cooks, purchasing agent, caddie master, etc.” Markel says. “There really is an extraordinary amount of tenure on this team. I’m here for them, and CCB is the special club it is because of them.”
The Country Club of Buffalo is situated on 325 acres in Western New York. The property, which opened in 1926, is the club’s third location since being founded in 1889. A renowned Donald Ross golf course and stately Duane Lyman-designed clubhouse are the main attractions, but the club also offers a variety of other amenities to its 505 member families. Additional recreational opportunities include a pool, tennis, platform tennis, pickleball, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, an ice-skating rink, and a world-class sporting clays facility offering five different disciplines. The dining program is robust, with a strong member preference for al fresco dining in the summer months.
“Clubs will often note a familial atmosphere, but here it is truly engrained in the culture,” Markel says. “Buffalo is known as the “City of Good Neighbors” and that rings especially true in our small community within the community.”
Recent Renovation
In 2022, CCB completed a full kitchen renovation and golf course irrigation replacement. These projects were approved for a total spend of $3.3 million, but finished under budget and in a timely fashion, Markel notes.
“The projects were approved by 98% of the membership who voted,” he says. “For a club this size, that is a substantial investment in infrastructure projects, and the team both recognizes and appreciates the members’ support.”
Markel notes that the club is currently finishing up the presentation materials on a 15-year campus plan for the property and facilities.
“The process has taken the better part of two years, but with a high level of member engagement throughout,” he says. “Focus groups, two surveys, and charrette sessions have contributed to a consensus-built plan that we are confident the membership will unite around. We intend to break ground on the first phase in 2024.”
The beneficiary of the kitchen renovation that included new walls, floors, ceilings, and equipment is Executive Chef Joe Piazza, CEC, AAC.
The club has three dining options for members to enjoy. The a la carte restaurant is open for all three meal periods; there is a snack bar at the pool, and a quick-service concept/halfway house on the golf course that has a mobile “hot dog cart” available on the weekends during the season.
“The main a la carte menu changes about 80 percent each month,” Piazza says. “This is very unique, as all the other clubs I have worked at typically do a quarterly menu change. The culinary team loves the fact of the diverse ingredients, and the members really enjoy seeing all the highly seasonal ingredients with each monthly revision.”
On the agronomic side, Grounds Superintendent Anthony Tosh, keeps the Ross gem shining. The property is unique in the fact that it sits on an old limestone quarry.
“The rock cutouts and stone features make for a picturesque setting, but the rocky soils and shallow bedrock can create a challenging growing environment,” Tosh says.
The new irrigation system will certainly help Tosh and his staff with their day-to-day duties. The team includes eight full-time, year-round employees and approximately 30 seasonal staff members that work from April through October.
Staffing Stability
Staffing has been an issue across the industry, but Tosh has an academic advantage over some of his colleagues.
“We’re fortunate to be in a location near a number of colleges and with an abundance of college students living in the area,” he says. “We’ve had great success attracting students for the summer.
“We try to create as enjoyable a work experience as possible to ensure we have as much of our seasonal staff returning each summer,” Tosh adds. “Being able to return the same staff each season with their increased knowledge and experience has an incalculable effect on the quality of product we can provide.”
Markel says CCB struggled with staffing, like most clubs, through the pandemic, and particularly in 2021. But heading into this summer season, they put an emphasis on not just hiring the associates needed, but “over hiring” to some extent in an effort to offer more flexible work schedules. That has proven impactful.
“We are continually monitoring the local market to ensure we are better than competitive on compensation levels,” he says. “Partnerships with local universities have also proven quite beneficial. I personally serve on the advisory committee for the hospitality school at a local college, and volunteer to teach several classes each semester. Our Assistant Manager does the same at her alma matter. Lastly, we signed on as an official sponsor for the athletic program at the largest university in our area and now attend sporting events to recruit students, as well as market openings directly through banner ads on their webpages.”
Piazza tells a similar tale on the F&B side.
“I am fortunate to have multiple culinary schools, and programs in Buffalo,” he says. “I also sit on the board of the local ACF, which helps with tapping into young future culinarians.
“As far as retaining staff, we really try to have a balanced schedule here at the club, which helps with the life-work balance we all struggle with,” Piazza adds.
Golf … and More
National outlets have dubbed CCB’s Ross layout as a Top 100 classic design. Jay Sutherland, PGA Head Golf Professional, is charged with getting members around the track for approximately 16,000 rounds each year. He points to the Memorial Invitational and Summer Invitational as the biggest events of the year, but daily play is treated with equal importance.
With Buffalo’s legendary winters, you’d think Sutherland would have ample downtime, but that’s not the case.
“The role of the golf professional and the golf shop staff has evolved so much in the last 20 years that we are still very active providing member services that go well beyond when the golf course is open,” he says. “Personally, we use the downtime to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming year so we can limit the amount of time in our offices and engage with members in person during the golf season.
“We will prepare an extensive, detailed buying plan that is easy to adjust during the season,” Sutherland explains. “All the budgets will be prepared and submitted with in-depth detail for easy reference during the season. We will plan our staffing levels and start that process as early as possible.
Once committees are set, Sutherland’s team meets with the tournament chairs to plan their respective events to reduce meeting time during the season. The staff will assess the past season’s strengths and weaknesses to make adjustments to procedures for the upcoming season.
Assistant Manager Rachel Black says, “being in Buffalo, winter activities are a must.”
“The past few winters have been mild, but in years past we have maintained an ice-skating rink,” she explains. “Our membership enjoys snowshoeing and cross-country skiing out on our course. We offer paddle tennis as well as shooting during the winter season.”
And not just any shooting …
“Our shooting program began nearly a century ago, so it’s been a well-established amenity for us for a long time,” Black says. “Since then, we’ve been able to establish a world-class facility which has attracted a number of avid clay target shooters to our club. We are also one of the only country clubs in Western New York that offers clay target shooting, so that helps attract members looking to shoot.
“We recently began offering training programs and beginner shoots to introduce more members to the sport and we’ve had a noticeable increase in activity due to those training events,” she continues. “We currently have five fields in operation … Trap, Skeet, Five-Stand, Brushwalk, and a Crazy Quail field. The Brushwalk is our signature field that provides a very unique target shooting challenge. It involves over 60 manually operated traps throwing targets while shooters walk along a wooded trail.”
While CCB is firmly rooted in the community and graced with an abundance of historical significance, the recent renovations and 15-year plan make it clear that the club will not rest on its laurels.
“The Country Club of Buffalo is the aspirational Club in Buffalo, and I believe one of the finest in North America,” Markel says. “We pride ourselves on exceptional, and personalized, service. The experience at CCB is classic and refined, yet not ostentatious.” C+RB
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