Golfers irked over ouster of cafe at Largo course

LARGO — Patrons of the Largo Golf Course are demanding the city take a second look on a proposal to end the lease with the Golf View Cafe and open a concession area in its place.

City officials, who detailed the plan during a recent City Commission work session, said the purpose was to generate revenue for the course, which was expected to lose $69,500 in fiscal year 2019, and to create a more seamless experience for the clientele.

Management analyst Lara Khoury said the new concession area, which would be run by part-time city employees and serve items such as premade sandwiches, hot dogs, soda, beer and wine, would generate a net revenue of $43,200 in its first year. In subsequent years, Khoury estimated the net revenue would be in excess of $65,000 annually.

Currently, the city collects $13,200 annually for the rent of the cafe, which has been run by George Vakalis and Maryann Cunningham since 2007. The lease expires Sept. 30 and the owners have already been notified that it won't be renewed.

"We felt that this was an opportunity to generate more revenue quickly," Khoury said. "In the future, we'll probably be bringing other items or creative ways of generating more revenue at the golf course."

In emails to the City Commission, nearly a dozen patrons of the cafe expressed their displeasure, echoing the same comments: Concession-style food doesn't make the cut, and if the cafe closes then they would take their business elsewhere.

"I am totally appalled that you would even be considering doing something like this," wrote Tara Michaels. "I will no longer be playing at your course if you do this because after my round of golf I enjoy a good lunch that is hot and fresh. Even Wawa makes fresh sandwiches."

Jason Nowell and Jennifer Storms wrote, "I'm sure the few kids and teenagers who visit the course on occasion will appreciate some greasy fast food, but the bulk of the clientele of this golf course are health conscious adults who appreciate being able to get a freshly cooked meal after a long day on the course. Sadly, if you go through with this change our group will move to other local courses who offer decent food for their patrons."

Some comments were even more blunt.

"Where is your loyalty after 12 years of great service, great food and great prices? Shame on you!" wrote Barbara Palmeri.

Some patrons also expressed concerns about the handling of food.

Joan Byrne, recreation, parks and arts director, said the city also serves prepared meals at the Community Center and golf course employees would go through a similar certification process.

Aside from changing the fare, golf course manager Jason Wilson said the decision will also give the city more control and options for the future.

"It's controlling the whole experience from the moment they walk into the door, go to the pro shop, go on the golf course and come in and socialize," Wilson said, noting that St. Petersburg also controls operations at its three courses and it has become an industry trend. "We feel by having that control and having that ability that we would maximize the amount of times they come visit our golf course, the amount of referrals we get from that patron."

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According to Khoury, that control will allow the city to do some renovations so the cafe and pro shop are almost one facility.

She said they would also revisit an idea that Wilson had some 10 years ago.

"We eventually would want to have the facility be a venue for rentals — weddings, family gatherings, that sort of thing," she said.

After reviewing the complaints, Commissioner John Carroll wondered how much contact the city had with customers when creating the proposal and what the next step would be.

"These emails keep trickling in and I just want to make sure we're in front of these issues before we address them," he said.

City Manager Henry Schubert said he didn't think any customer input was solicited, but the proposal will be revisited during the city's budget deliberations Sept. 4.