Stephen McCary, Executive Chef of Vestavia CC, shares how he and his team continue to care for members with small details that have a big impact.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected Vestavia Country Club (Birmingham, Ala.) in much the same way it has affected clubs worldwide. In these unprecedented days, we all have to do our part and make adjustments to the “new normal.” Just because we are all social distancing, however, doesn’t mean the world stops turning. And it certainly doesn’t mean we can neglect our duty to nourish our memberships.
As our members do their part to slow the spread of the virus by sheltering-at-home, we have moved one of our POS systems to our member parking lot. We’ve pivoted our in-person dining operation into a well-oiled, curbside to-go machine. We promote ever-changing to-go menus on our website, through email blasts, and on our Instagram page. We also have a grab-n-go pantry that is stocked with cold items (e.g. salads, soups, sandwiches), frozen items (e.g. casseroles, chicken tetrazzini), and baked goods (e.g. pies, cookies). Our state has even temporarily allowed for restaurants to supply curbside alcohol sales, so we have been creating “care packages” for our members to enjoy at homes.
Members swing by to pick up these items, wave at some of their favorite staff members, and just get out of the house for a bit. Member families who live in the neighborhood have even been coming via golf cart – which has created an interesting marketing buzz among the non-member neighbors, who can’t help but notice all of the (responsible and compliant) activity happening here.
In addition to our a la carte to-go and pantry, we recently began offering family-sized meals that feed 6-8 people (or 2-3 teenage boys). Some of these meals include Southern Fried Chicken Boxes (chicken, biscuits, collard greens, and mashed potatoes), Italian Night (baked ziti, garlic bread, and Caesar salad) and Taco Kits (taco meat, shells, queso, salsa, guacamole, chips, rice, and beans). They have been a huge hit with our families, especially to families with those with children in virtual school. Those parents have enough on their plate (pun intended) to do right now. This program has helped them tremendously.
The success of these family-style meals helped us create a plan for Easter and Mother’s Day, too.
Typically, Vestavia Country Club hosts a Sunday Brunch Buffet for both the Easter and Mother’s Day. Both of these brunches bring about 700 Members and some of their extended families to the club, which is then filled with a buzzing energy, smiling families, and children in smocked white outfits. Well, smocked chocolate-covered outfits.
To adjust to the shelter-at-home mandate, however, we pivoted to an Easter “curbside catering” service for our Membership. This menu featured entrées like petite pineapple glazed ham, beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, and smoked pork tenderloin with peach chutney, along with dozens of side items and desserts to complete your meal. (View our Easter menu here.) Since some of our members had smaller-than-usual holiday gatherings, so we even allowed for half-sizes to be ordered for many items.
I’m thrilled to report that we received 150 orders for Easter, which was a major success, given they can’t dine on-site. But there is also another victory here. This number likely represents about 600 Members, which is a huge win with regard to market penetration. Many of these individuals are not spending this year’s holiday with the non-member extended family that they usually bring on-site for the buffet.
These members picked up their hot meals curbside on Easter Sunday (and the Easter Bunny was also there to wave, hold up signs to each car, and even take photos from a safe, 6-foot distance).
Another win, which isn’t calculated into the aforementioned Easter catering order numbers, is that the members knew our Easter side items and desserts were also available in our grab-n-go pantry the entire weekend.
Due to the success of Easter—and an overwhelming number of positive responses from the membership—we plan to do a similar catering layout for Mother’s Day. This will be a complete meal, with a starter, main course, two sides, and a dessert. A la carte will also be available.
One way that we will make Mother’s Day special will be to personalize each order. We plan to include a small note in each order, specifically addressing the mother by name, telling her how much she means to her family and to VCC. A small gift or rose will also be included in each order, with hopes that Mom will feel a special tug of appreciation toward her club. That, or we will be inadvertently be helping the family member who picks up the order, if he or she realizes they forgot to get her a Mother’s Day gift. Either way, it will be appreciated by someone in the family!
Personalization like this, especially for things like birthdays, are incredibly important at a time like this. As you all know, to successfully work in the club industry, you have to have a servant’s heart. This means possessing a genuine desire to not only nourish your members through food, but to also nourish their souls through tiny gestures that make them feel important, loved, and not forgotten.
Gestures like these will be what they remember when this is all over—and hopefully longer after then, too.
Paul Sparks says
Excellent write up and great to see VCC pivoting to a different way of serving members during a trying time for all.
Dana says
As a VCC member, our family has really enjoyed the curbside to go option during the pandemic. Chef Stephen and his staff are doing a wonderful job putting together menu selections which remain stable for the curbside wait and the ride home. We enjoyed the Mother’s Day curbside and were able to share and transport part of the meal to family members who are socially distant. And, Stephen’s dishes are absolutely delicious!
Susan Grimmer says
Awesome article on Chef Stephen & VCC. Very impressed with the creativity to serve the membership with curb side pick up & pantry. Well done!