By Ted Schnell • BocaJump | Jan. 12, 2012
Torn by doubts about the economic viability of a city-owned country club in a touch economy and troubled by the perception of at least one member that the city’s efforts to find bidders did not go far enough, a divided Elgin City Council on Wednesday awarded a contract to Carlucci Hospitality to at first manage and eventually lease Porter’s Pub.
Aside from the golf course itself, the eatery is the centerpiece among the offerings available to visitors to Bowes Creek Country Club and is considered a key to the “member for a day” experience touted at the country club.
While the city administration expressed confidence in Carlucci Hospitality — many on the council praised the service and the food Carlucci serves at Porter’s Pub — two on the council ultimately were not swayed.
Councilman John Prigge, who twice has questioned the process that led to Carlucci being the only restaurateur to bid on running the establishment, joined Councilwoman Anna Moeller, who expressed her own doubts about the longevity of subsidies to the pub, in voting against the agreement with Carlucci.
Mayor David Kaptain, Councilwoman Tish Powell and Councilmen John Steffen and Richard Dunne voted in favor of the contract. Councilman Robert Gilliam was absent due to a family health issue.
Moeller questioned the business and marketing plan for Porter’s Pub, and wanted to know how quickly it would be before the restaurant would break even. Golf Director Mike Lehman said the Hickory Stick at the city’s The Highlands of Elgin golf course took three years to break even.
That issue troubled Moeller, because under the contract with Carlucci, the city will subsidize Porter’s Pub for the first three years of the four-year contract.
Contract details
Carlucci, operating as Porter’s Pub Payroll PPP LLC, took over the pub in May, after the city axed the prior vendor, Twelfth Night Catering LLC for nonpayment of rent. The city is suing Twelfth Night for that $66,220, city officials have said.
Because of the experience with Twelfth Night, the city opted to seek a manager instead of another vendor to run the pub. In 2011, the city paid Carlucci $52,500 a month to manage Porter’s Pub. The city paid all the supplies expenses for the pub’s operation, but it also collected all the revenues generated by the facility. Porter’s Pub grossed $609,500 from March through December, mostly under Carlucci’s oversight, but ended the year with a net loss $126,878. Under the new contract, the de facto subsidy to Porter’s will continue in 2012.
But Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle said the monthly management fee of $52,500 to hire staff and otherwise manage the facility will be cut to $35,000.
But in 2013, Carlucci no longer will manage Porter’s Pub for the city, it will begin leasing the restaurant. At that point, the city subsidy would shrink to $50,000 in 2013 and again in 2014, but the subsidy would end entirely in 2015.
Moeller, however, expressed doubts about the subsidy’s end. She said the subsidy is being defended now because Porter’s Pub is considered an essential part of Bowes Creek Country Club. If Carlucci has a more difficult time than anticipated in succeeding in the Porter’s Pub venture, she said, that argument would not change if increased or continued subsidies were brought back to the City Council in the coming years.
Doubts cast on bidding process
Prigge, who praised Carlucci as a restaurateur, continued on Wednesday to reiterate his past doubts about the bidding process for Porter’s Pub — specifically saying he did not believe the city advertised well enough to draw in bids. He questioned whether advertising the bid in a local, six-day-a-week paper (a veiled reference to The Courier-News) was effective, particularly when a publication like Crain’s Chicago Business — or even the Sun-Times or Tribune — likely would have a better shot at getting the advertisement in front of the caliber of restaurateur the city sought.
“The process does not make sense,” he said. Prigge said that is not fair to other potential bidders, nor is it fair to Elgin residents.
His criticisms have been countered before by the city administration, and City Manager Sean Stegall on Wednesday again explained to Prigge that the city did advertise for proposals, as well as contacting area restaurateurs to try to solicit interest.
Lehman, the golf director, added that the bid also was published with the National Restaurant Association, although city staff could not tell Prigge whether that advertisement was in print or an online Internet ad.
Stegall pointed out that the economy still is suffering after the Great Recession of 2008, and that restaurants in particular are hit hard when the economy sours, making it less likely for a restaurateur to take a risk on a new venture such as Porter’s Pub. Also working against the city, he said, is the pub’s location — off the beaten path in a rural area west of Randall Road.
“Staff made the best effort it could to get a high-quality vendor at the best possible price,” Stegall said, noting that is in line with the city’s policy on bidding. “I believe we did that and I believe that was accomplished.”
Councilman Richard Dunne, who said he agrees with some of Prigge’s concerns, appeared to defend the idea that few would be interested in bidding for the Porter’s contract. The prior vendor drove the name Porter’s Pub into the ground, Dunne said, which is a formidable obstacle to overcome in the restaurant business, particularly when there is no name change.
Dunne also pointed out that the restaurant is considered a key to the success of the golf operation at Bowes Creek Country Club. Dunne said he would not have supported the country club when it first came to the city, “but that was another council, and it is now water under the bridge,” he said. Regardless, this City Council must strive to make it work.
Further, Dunne reminded the council that the city still owes Toll Brothers about $3 million in fee waivers for the undeveloped land in the Bowes Creek community that borders the golf course. Toll Brothers has sold only about 20 percent of the 1,000 homes it planned to build in the development.
Bowes Creek Country Club has nearly 100 members, and the membership includes high-end dining opportunities. City officials have said that without Porter’s, members would have a bona fide reason to seek a refund of their membership fees.
