Desert Mountain and River Run CC offer thoughtful and well-crafted coffee and tea programs focused on member preferences.
With early tee times and bustling fitness centers, having a place for members to grab a cup of coffee or a flavored latte was a sure bet for Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and River Run Country Club (Davidson, N.C.).
Both Desert Mountain’s Cafe Verde and River Run’s Slice Cafe & Marketplace feature comprehensive and member-focused coffee and tea programs, including specialty and seasonal beverages.
“We offer rotating medium and dark roasts, plus decaf, cold-brew, and espresso,” says Bertrand Bouquin, Desert Mountain’s Culinary Director. “We have all the flavored syrups, too—including pumpkin spice.”
Derek Nolin, Director of F&B, River Run CC
Desert Mountain looks to its importer, roaster and distributor to fill the ample coffee needs of its program, which services seven a la carte restaurants as well as the club’s catering operation. The club also offers almond and soy plant-based milk alternatives, which are called for, Bouquin estimates, as much as fifty percent of the time.
Slice Café at River Run keeps it a bit simpler, with one medium roast, decaf, and espresso pods. The club also offers a full assortment of syrups, caffeinated and herbal teas, and non-dairy milk alternatives.
“We recently had to change from our longtime coffee purveyor because they switched to a distributor we don’t work with,” says Derek Nolin, Director of Food and Beverage. “When we began the process of finding a new purveyor, we sat down with our rep to taste different offerings to find the best fit for our needs.”
Sustainability and fair-trade practices are important factors to consider when picking a coffee partner, both Nolin and Bouquin note.
At Desert Mountain, Bouquin utilizes a staff largely cross-trained throughout the club’s various restaurants, including Cafe Verde, which offers healthy breakfast options, salads, and an all-day, light-fare menu in addition to beverages.
Bertrand Bouquin, Culinary Director, Desert Mountain
The nonstop traffic at Slice Café from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. requires a dedicated team. During COVID-19 closures, Nolin kept the Slice team working by launching a grocery delivery program that actually led to the recent expansion of the cafe’s offerings and a rebranding to include “Marketplace” in its name.
“It’s an evolution that speaks to our members’ current needs,” says Nolin. “Slice now provides them with an opportunity for quick-grab items such as eggs, milk, juices, and even flowers sourced from a local florist, in addition to all of the options we offered before.”
Coffee cocktails can also be found at Slice and in River Run’s main dining room, as well as in Desert Mountain’s Italian restaurant, Constantino’s.
