Consultants tell Westborough committee to design Country Club restaurant to revenue target before seeking town funding

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Consultants working with BFE Architects told the Municipal Building Committee on Sept. 26 that the next step for a proposed restaurant at the Town Country Club is to translate concept plans into finance-ready numbers that will prove the project can be supported by the enterprise fund rather than general-tax revenue.

Paul Toronto, an operations and P&L specialist introduced at the meeting, said his team can produce an equipment package, operational feasibility study and marketing materials to recruit an operator. He said consultants can also provide costed equipment lists and projected profit-and-loss scenarios to shorten operator start-up time.

The committee’s discussion centered on how much of the build-out the town should fund and what an incoming operator would be expected to provide. Consultants described two broad approaches: build a more complete, furnished restaurant to attract an operator quickly, or deliver a shell and provide an allowance so an operator outfits and owns major equipment. The consultants cautioned that ownership and maintenance responsibilities — for example, hoods, refrigeration and fire-safety systems — must be settled in leases or contracts so the town does not inherit ongoing operating obligations.

An estimate discussed at the meeting put potential annual food-service revenue in the $2 million to $2.5 million range, with industry-standard rent near 6 percent of gross sales (roughly $120,000 to $150,000 a year). Committee members repeatedly urged designing the project to the revenue the Country Club enterprise fund could realistically support; the group noted the enterprise fund currently retains only modest annual surplus and that, if enterprise revenues fall short, debt service could affect the general fund.

Staff said the committee will need an owner’s project manager (OPM) under state procurement rules before selecting a designer and that an appropriation to fund OPM and design services will be required at Town Meeting. An OPM and designer-selection RFQ could be pursued this fall, consultants said, and the committee discussed aiming for a March Town Meeting appropriation to move the project into full design and bid documents.

The committee did not take a formal vote to select between design options at the Sept. 26 meeting; members agreed to return with refined numbers. In routine business, the committee approved the minutes from its prior meeting by unanimous voice vote and set a next meeting date for Oct. 17 at 8 a.m.

The committee asked consultants to produce a phase-one equipment and feasibility package — including costed equipment lists and P&L assumptions — that can be appended to the town's designer/OPM procurement and presented to voters when the appropriation is requested. The consultants estimated that kitchen fit-out costs can vary widely depending on whether the town supplies a full kitchen or a limited-concession solution, and they emphasized that mechanical, electrical and ventilation engineering is key to tightening cost estimates.

What happens next: the committee will pursue selection of an OPM and refine design and cost packages to present at Town Meeting. If voters approve an appropriation, the committee intends to proceed with designer selection and phased construction planning.