Tirzo's Polling Results

The Board's Resolution of the Restaurant Dilemma

What will the board reveal at the 25th March regular monthly board meeting about their plans for the restaurant? If we can rely on what Jack Troia told us at the 11th March special board meeting, the board’s restaurant plans were already laid in concrete by that earlier board meeting. Here is what I believe those plans will include:

Retain Tirzo Hernandez. It’s unclear whether the board believes the lessee can be rehabilitated or whether they feel they have no acceptable alternative, or both. With more than a few residents rising to speak of their disappointing dining experience at Tirzo's, one might begin to wonder whether Tirzo was really the best choice for the community. One has to assume that this initial leasing period would have allowed Tirzo Hernandez to demonstrate the very best he was capable of offering. It was apparent that his best did not meet homeowner expectations nor the reasonable expectations of the Women's Club. For those residents willing to describe their dining experiences at Tirzo's Bistro, consistency in food preparation and service were not qualities homeowners could always count on. I would add that meal pricing for the amount being served compared to a popular Italian chain restaurant was also an issue for some. Topping that off was a scathing rebuke of Tirzo’s catering services by the Women’s Club, the largest group in Sun City needing catering services on a recurring basis. The overwhelming attractive feature was the restaurant's convenient proxmity and view, which has nothing to do with who is the lessee. With these quite mixed results, causing some frequent diners to abandon Tirzo’s altogether and others to continue to dine at Tirzo's, some board members might be wondering if Tirzo has the ability to perform at the level the community needs. Despite Tirzo’s apparent willingness to accommodate our needs, it’s quite possible that the demands of this particular restaurant and catering opportunity is beyond his capacity to perform. While some correctly point to what has been happening in our local economy, including the closing of established restaurants, it’s not clear that a different restaurant operator with broader dining experiences would not welcome the opportunity to lease Trumpets under the same terms that are now being offered to Tirzo’s Bistro.
Treat Tirzo’s Bistro as an amenity. Jack Troia told the audience that the board was headed in only one direction concerning restaurant operations. That direction was the elimination of rent as a requirement of the lease, thereby making restaurant operations an amenity rather than attempting to operate the restaurant as a break even venture. Rather than Tirzo’s Bistro, the association’s members would assume the cost of maintenance, property taxes and reserves, estimated at $82,000 a year, or just under $7,000 a month. That rent requirement in the lease of $7,000 a month will be dropped. That potential subsidy is equivalent to about $12 per unit owner per year, or $1 per unit owner per month. That subsidy will likely fluctuate periodically depending on customer support of the restaurant. For example, if customer support picks up sufficiently, agreed upon revenue sharing provisions, to be announce at the upcoming board meeting, would greatly reduce or eliminate entirely the need for that subsidy during that accounting period. The increased income received by the association from restaurant and catering operations could potentially offset the costs incurred by the association in having a restaurant on its premises.
Collect any amounts owed in arrears. Depending on the amount of monies owed for utilities, that amount could be roughly $40,000.
Have a signed contract to present to the community at the regular March board meeting on the 25th.

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Ron Johnson, 18 March 2010