Café Committee Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 19, 2015, 12pm
Present: Nancy Shapiro, Katie Burke, Deb Wilton, Carol Berg, Sue Terrell, Chip Moreland (via telephone), Bren Boyd (Food & Beverage Director), and Curtis Lew (Asst. GM)
Approval of Minutes: Wilton motioned October 14, 2015 minutes be approved. Berg seconded the motion. All approve.
Financials: Shapiro discussed the October’s financials. Regarding labor expense for the Challenger event, Bren, as this was his first pass through, made sure the event ran smoothly even if labor expense ran a bit high. Bren will hire temps as needed for this event moving forward.
Director’s Report: Bren said recently hired Julie Halgren no longer works for TPC. In the weekly after Thanksgiving, Bren will remind the memberships the ability for Café take-outs and usage of food and beverage minimum. Bren would like to purchase a used salamander cheese melter for approximately $300 instead of a new one for $2,000.00.
New Menu: Shapiro said due to computer formatting issues, the new Café menu was stalled in production but will be unveiled on Tuesday, December 1st, after Thanksgiving weekend. Terrell offered to help with menu layout and will discuss separately with Bren.
Employee Service Charge: Shapiro opened discussion regarding service charge, its history, and what the Café wants to do. After much discussion, Berg motioned the Café should remove the current 9% service charge from the café expenses and instead institute a 9% surcharge to all café purchases effective January 2016. Wilton seconded the motion. All approve. Shapiro will bring to the Board for discussion and approval.
Regarding employee meals, there is currently a 30% café discount absorbed by the Café. There was discussion on how the 30% benefit to the employees should be absorbed. The Committee suggested each department absorb the 30% discount. The café would continue to expense the meal charges for café employees. Shapiro will discuss with the Finance Committee.
Sip & Taste Event: Due to schedule conflicts, the upcoming Sip & Taste scheduled for Thursday, December 3rd has been postponed until January 21, 2016. Shapiro said the survey came back with good positive feedback; therefore, the Committee will continue with this event in January 2016.
More ideas to promote the Café are various sporting events. After discussion, Bren will have a special menu item on Sunday, December 6th at 3pm for the Warriors basketball game. Curtis will email the membership. Jerry emailed the Café Committee the list of Club events historically held and was discussed. All events listed and more will be implemented. Committee agreed the St. Patrick’s Day event would be an “adult only” event and will involve some type of new beers or beer tasting. Details to be worked out after “adult only” event in January.
Café Survey: Luis produced a survey and is in the hands of Michelle, our webmaster.
Unused Food and Beverage minimum: Shapiro said there is approximately $53,000 in unused minimum. Bren will email via weekly and also include a reminder in all café events for the remaining of the year. All agreed many notices sent to members and all should know about the minimum. It was mentioned monthly TPC bills include unused minimum information.
Social: Shapiro said TPC should be more involved with the community on a regular basis, maybe quarterly. Shapiro would like to have “One Warm Coat” or Marin Food Bank supporting various organizations. Bren suggested donating to the Lake County fire victims. Bren will find a non-profit organization providing assistance to these victims and give information to Nancy ASAP.
Lastly, Shapiro discussed the idea of having art/paintings in the café for sale on a rotating basis. Wilton, an artist and a former Art History teacher, would love to “curate” this project. All were in favor.
Adjourned: 1:15pm
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