Village of Lake Success Board of Appeals Chairperson Carol Bernstein had an appeal of her own Monday when she asked village trustees to do something about the food and service at Village Club’s Grill Room at Lake Success.
Bernstein, who said she was serving as spokesman for unhappy friends and neighbors seeking to improve the Village Club’s food and services, sharply criticized CulinArt, the vendor hired by the village to operate the Grill Room.
Some members call the Grill Room’s food “inedible,” Bernstein said.
Food failures include “spare ribs like hockey pucks” drowning in “barbecue sauce that’s too sweet,” she said.
Bernstein also said the Grill Room’s service was generally unprofessional and inattentive, and management did not appear to take residents’ complaints seriously.
Lake Success Mayor Ronald S. Cooper said trustees were aware of residents complaints about the Grill Room and said “we’re trying to resolve these issues.”
“It’s never going to be perfect,” Cooper pointed out.
But, he added, “I was there last night. It was very good.”
Efforts to reach CulinArt were unavailing.
Trustees said the Grill Room is not profitable; the vendor balances the losses of serving members with its profits in its lucrative catering business.
Bernstein said the CulinArt’s catering work was preventing residents from enjoying the Village Club
“It’s become a catering hall,” she said, which blocks residents from enjoying the members-only Village Club.
CulinArt, she said, caters to outsiders who hire it for private affairs and treats members like second class citizens.
“They shoved the food in front of us,” Bernstein said of a recent visit. “It’s not the standards we expect.”
Bernstein also complained that non-club members were showing up to eat at the club and that the club was closing too early.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Lam, who said he has lodged his own complaints with the vendor, agreed that patrons should not be served “spare ribs they can’t cut” and that someone should pay attention to things like “a label on salad dressing”.
Lam said the restaurant is supposed to be open 7:30 until “dusk,” but he and friends showed up for a recent dinner and were told the restaurant would be closed “by 7:30.” He said members who appeared at 7:30 p.m. on recent evening found the doors “locked shut.”
Trustee Alan Mindel agreed.
“They should never turn residents away,” Mindel said. “Catering fees have grown from $1 million to as much as $4 million. That alone is a good reason for residents to feel entitled to service improvements.”
Trustee Gene Kaplan added that he was unhappy that the ‘bar menu” ends at 5:00 p.m., which he said is too early for golfers just finishing up their afternoon games.
Mindel, who helps operates the Inn at Great Neck and the Adria Hotel in Bayside, said the Grill Room, like the Card Room, would be restricted when new contract terms kick in “six months” from now, so that “residents can bring bagels and Nova and cream cheese” for private gatherings, without CulinArt.
“That will be okay,” he said.
The contract with CulinArt, which lists the United Nations Delegates Club and Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club as customers on its website, was renewed in 2013 amid complaints about food quality and service.
Mindel said some residents are turned off by newer club members who seem unfamiliar with traditional golf etiquette — changing their golf shoes on the course, to save on locker fees, for instance.
Someone should tell these people to “change your shoes somewhere else,” said Trustee David Milner, who is the Village’s Parks Commissioner. “We want a fancy country club. Maybe it’s time to raise the dues of the residents o pay for the fancy club,” he said.
No one is so sure where that money would come from.
The board approved a golf fee hike to $30. “Walkers” who don’t use golf carts currently pay $18.
