Stylish, flexible outdoor dining spaces revitalize member activity and provide a boost to F&B programs.
While outdoor dining has rapidly gained favor as a must-have feature, some al fresco spaces at club and resort properties are now focusing on more than just mealtimes.
“Folks are changing the way they use outdoor dining. It is not just the traditional two-top or four-top anymore,” says Don Smith, General Manager at Snowmass Club in Snowmass Village, Colo. “Don’t diminish the gathering spaces; gathering areas outside are very important. People can have a drink in those seating areas and then roll in for dinner.”
SUMMING IT UP
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To create all-encompassing outdoor spaces, it’s important to set the stage with thoughtful design, including strategic seating setups, lighting and landscaping.
Creating Comfort
With an active membership and breathtaking surroundings, outdoor dining is in high demand at the Snowmass Club. “Folks here are active, and everyone wants to be outdoors,” says Smith. “We wanted our outdoor dining areas to allow them to extend their day outside.”
After being acquired by Toll Golf last year and undergoing a major renovation and expansion, the Snowmass Club now has two bustling outdoor dining venues. The Sage Restaurant terrace off the main clubhouse overlooks the club’s pool, waterfall and golf course, and offers uninterrupted views of Mt. Daly. The Black Saddle Bar & Grille at the club’s golf clubhouse has an outdoor terrace overlooking the golf course and Snowmass Mountain.
“The views from our terraces are second to none,” notes Smith. “They are amazing at sunset and at nighttime, because there is not a lot of ambient light around our clubhouses.”
Prior to the club’s recent renovation, the small patio off the Sage restaurant was set up with several wrought-iron tables and chairs. During the renovation, the club expanded and rejuvenated the space with new furniture, a fire pit, enhanced lighting and lush landscaping.
Today, the Sage terrace is a 4,000-sq. ft. dining space with two open-air sides and a small covered section. The patio has rattan-style dining tables and chairs, and conversation areas are set up with soft seating and stone fire pits.
Snowmass utilizes a number of small and large tables, along with the soft seating, to create a versatile space that can be used for a number of needs, including traditional dining and hors d’oeuvres. “It is not a defined space; we wanted it to be flexible for whatever our members need,” says Smith. “We can move tables quickly and easily.”
To help set the outdoor tone for the terrace, the club uses flowers, hanging plants and potted plants. Candles on the tables offer enough light to see a menu, while also setting a mood. All of the umbrellas on the patio have under-lighting; landscape lighting highlights the club’s waterfalls and pools; and up-lighting on the trees surrounding the terraces creates a warm glow throughout the space.
Don’t Forget the FoodOutdoor dining venues are not only the perfect way to add ambiance and style to your property, they also provide a chance to liven up the menu.
In the evening, the terrace at The Players Club houses theme buffets. The club has had When the Country Club of the South added a fire pit to its outdoor patio, it also added do-it-yourself s’mores to the menu, providing graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows for members to roast at the pit. At the Snowmass Club, The Sage Restaurant terrace includes an in-house herb garden that provides ingredients for the culinary team. Having the herb garden in the middle of the terrace helps to create conversations between the kitchen team and the members—and allows members to learn more about the menu. |
While setting a mood was a top priority when designing the space, the club also recognized the importance of functionality from a service perspective. “We wanted our servers to have the ability to get to their work stations quickly and to be able to get to the [point-of-sale stations] to process the orders quickly,” says Smith. “We didn’t want to overcrowd the patio with so much seating that servers couldn’t get through.”
The club also utilizes portable service stations that can be moved onto the patio as needed, and additional service stations were set up close to the clubhouse.
The Snowmass Club took steps to ensure that its outdoor areas can be used during even the most inclement weather scenarios. Both terraces have umbrellas over the tables, and covered sections on both patios allow members to enjoy outdoor dining while avoiding harsh sunlight or rain. The club also uses portable heaters when the temperatures drop.
The terraces also have the ability to be tented—an especially useful feature for special events. “Some people want to take away the risk of rain when they are having an outdoor event, so we can set up poles and fasten a tent to the building,” says Smith.
Outdoor Expansion
Being able to enjoy the warm Florida weather at The Players Club & Spa in Naples, Fla., is a top priority for many of the club’s members, particularly those getting away from the cold northern and Midwestern winters. “Most of our people come down here for the perfect weather at the height of the [winter] season, and they like to be outside,” says General Manager George Hunt. “Outdoor dining is something they can’t normally enjoy during that time of year.”
During the club’s recent expansion and renovation, the club’s owner, Brian Stock, had a vision to improve and expand the club’s outdoor dining options. Stock’s vision came to life in three different outdoor venues: the Tiki Bar (an open-air poolside venue), a covered veranda, and an open-air terrace (both adjacent to the club’s main dining room).
In just the first few weeks after opening the new dining areas, the club saw close to a 50 percent increase in overall dining activity as a result of the improved outdoor venues.
The Tiki Bar was originally used just for poolside drinks, but members and guests then started to order food at the pool in recent years. This became difficult from an operational standpoint, because the Tiki Bar didn’t have its own kitchen. The food was prepared in the main kitchen in the clubhouse, and servers would then bring it down to members at the pool, Hunt explains. But the club has now added a full yet compact kitchen, allowing for smoother service and a wider variety of menu options.
Prior to the renovation, the Tiki Bar just had a bar with seating. Today, the lively space is a bustling outdoor sports bar with seating for 250 people and seven large televisions, says Hunt.
The Tiki Bar is resort-style, with views of a stream and a waterfall feature. It is set up with brown, bistro-style wicker tables and chairs with orange cushions. Misters are attached to a trellis to keep the space cool on hot days, and umbrellas offer shade and respite from the sun.
The clubhouse’s covered veranda can seat about 100 people. This space has an indoor/outdoor circular bar that overlooks a waterfall feature. Meanwhile, the terrace is an open-air dining space adjacent to the main dining room. It seats 150 people and has a cobblestone and brick fireplace.
These areas are decorated in a contemporary style, with silver and aqua tones and polished nickel finishes. The club mixes and matches different furniture styles and setups. “We have soft-seating conversation areas mixed in with dining tables,” says Hunt. “But we added trees and landscaping to break up the space.”
The terrace area is often used for special events. “We’ll do the cocktail hour on the terrace and then invite guests into the dining room for dinner,” says Hunt. “As they dine, we’ll transform the terrace into an after-dinner cocktail area where they can enjoy drinks and desserts.”
To ensure that the terrace functions smoothly for special events and dining, The Players Club designed the space with multiple points of entry. Members and guests can enter or exit from the main dining room or from a separate walkway, allowing them to enter the terrace without going through the clubhouse.
“This was a very important design element, to make this a multi-purpose space,” says Hunt. “It also helps us operationally because when they move to the terrace after dinner, we can clean up the dining room and prepare for the next day, while they are still enjoying themselves outside.”
Combination Seating
Several years ago, the only outdoor area for members at the Country Club of the South in Johns Creek, Ga., was a small balcony with about four tables. When ClubCorp purchased the club, one of the first things it did was make investments to create dynamic outdoor dining venues.
To do this, the club built an oversized stone patio that spans the entire back of the clubhouse and overlooks the 18th green. The patio can seat about 70 people and is now buzzing with activity. “It has been extremely popular with our members and is a central focal point of the club,” says Mike Selk, the club’s Director of Food and Beverage and a Regional Director of F&B for ClubCorp’s Southeast Region.
The patio draws its popularity from being more than just a dining venue—it’s a social space designed to serve multiple purposes. Set up with high-end wicker furniture, the patio has both traditional outdoor dining tables and chairs as well as gathering areas that offer cozy yet contemporary couches, armchairs and ottomans, and a stone fire pit.
To create a seamless flow, the club spaced out the seating and created “nook areas” for the soft seating. There is a four- to five-foot separation between these areas and the dining tables. This setup creates well-defined gathering areas that blend with the dining activity without interfering with it, Selk says.
Adding the outdoor dining element increased dining space at the club by 30 to 40 percent, Selk reports, and the club has seen a significant increase in its food-and-beverage revenues since the patio opened three years ago.
Of course, such a substantial increase in activity poses its own set of challenges. “We had to get used to the increase in volume,” says Selk. “We hired more servers and continued to train our existing staff.”
To avoid the growing pains of servicing a higher volume of diners, Selk advises managers to know what to expect. “Anticipate that your covers will increase by 20 percent, or more,” he says.
“When you open, make sure you are extra-staffed and that your current staff is trained and able to handle the increased volume,” he adds. “Outdoor dining is an extension of your F&B, so service in the outdoor space needs to fit seamlessly with your operation.”
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