The increase in business at Lexington CC is giving way to big changes for Executive Chef Matthew Blazey and his team including new dining spaces and new team members.
For me the team here at Lexington Country Club, 2021 will live on in infamy like folklore people will talk about for generations.
All kidding aside, 2021 has been great thus far. We started the year by asking ourselves what everyone was asking themselves: How do you forecast with the thought of things changing, again? Would we still be under restrictions and how tight would those be? How long will they last? How many people will still be timid about social gatherings? Would people/companies be looking to make up for the lack of social interactions from the previous year and to what extent?
These questions have been answered. Memberships are the highest they’ve been in the club’s history. Revenues are soaring. Banquets have returned and we’re firing on all cylinders with record low staffing.
For the past few months, we’ve been in a rat race to hire accountable, experienced, and dependable staff. We’ve had to get creative and think of ways to pull people back into the workforce. This “inner pandemic” isn’t over. We’re still in need of accountable, experienced, and dependable individuals. But when does the race end? When do we decide to ride out the balance of the year because slower months are ahead? How long and how heavy do we continue to lean on tired and worn-out cooks, chefs and dishwashers?
For me, it’s clear. We take care of those taking care of us. We hire for positions needed and adapt as we can. My purpose is to create a positive member experience and pleasing members with the food and service we deliver. The ongoing challenge is that we can’t deliver a consistent experience with burnt-out employees.
One of the biggest benefits of added members and revenue has been the eye-opening need to address our current facilities and needs for 2022. When planning for 2021, my budgets were very aggressive. We knew we’d be busy, but didn’t think we’d ever be where we are currently. Revenues have exceeded already aggressive budgets and not by minimal amounts. These increases have allowed us the opportunity to pursue a much-needed remodel of our current clubhouse, an addition of a new indoor/outdoor bar, as well as needs within the kitchen to accommodate such increases.
We have also added new key associate positions to maintain our high member experience standards in the addition of a new clubhouse manager as well as an Executive Sous Chef, which the club hasn’t had previously. The plan and idea are to capitalize on these various influxes and not allow ourselves to become stagnant or plateau. We are over the moon with how well our team has handled the challenges so far and they deserve to know that the managers, board, and membership are committed to furthering not only the members’ experience but the staff’s experience as well.