In all my years covering the culinary side of the private club industry, I had yet to attend the Metropolitan Club Foundation Vendor Exhibition at Glen Island Harbour Club.
After attending this year, I discovered one of the most professionally run events I have attended. I sat down with Randy Ruder, COO and General Manager at the Beach Point Club, who chairs the event, to learn more.
What is the actual history of this event, and how long have you been involved in it?
In 1995, some managers and members of the Metropolitan Chapter of CMAA (Club Management Association of America) thought it would be great to produce an event that ties club managers and vendors. It began at Westchester Country Club and ran on a volunteer basis. I got involved in year two, and ever since, the event has become bigger and bigger. Many amazing club managers and the Managing Director of our Chapter and Foundation, Heather Apgar, contribute in big ways to the event’s success showing up year after year to do their part.
At one point, we took over all of Westchester Country Club, and after 8 years, we outgrew the property and moved the event to the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle, New York. Glen Island is not a private club; it’s a beautiful event space on the water that hosts weddings and many events. It has the feel and look of a country club. What’s excellent about Glen Island Harbour Club is that it’s big enough that we can layer everything on top of each other due to its multi-levels and vast function spaces. We do a luncheon for the vendors at 11:00 a.m. and attendees can eat between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. The trade show runs from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
What types of vendors attend the event?
The trade show consists of club-specific vendors selling everything from golf and tennis supplies to restaurant equipment and services such as payroll, human resources, health insurance, utilities, and staffing services. We hold concurrent education all day, such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, best management practices, IT solutions, etc. We advertise the classes to attract different participants throughout the day and bring bursts of people to the show. At the show’s conclusion, we hold a grand cocktail party inclusive of a tasting from regional club culinary teams led by the Club Chefs of Westchester. It’s not a cooking competition, but it feels like one! Each club with an action station created a signature dish that ties to educational experiences that the club chefs visited that year. This year they visited the Pacific Northwest, so the menu was focused around Napa, Sonoma, and Oregon.
Is the liquor industry heavily involved?
They are permitted to show off their products and brands during the day but only to serve tasting samples during the Cocktail party. It is a popular and fitting way for them to network with industry teams with purchasing power.
How many industry folks attend the event?
Typically, each club will bring a team of six or seven, usually General Managers, Executive Chefs, Controllers, Event Management, Dining Room Managers, and Sous Chefs. We had over 700 club attendees this year.
We chose March to hold this event in the Northeast; everyone’s back from vacation and preparing to open for the season, and everyone’s looking for last-minute products or seasonal sourcing. Every year it sells out! Only people related to the private club industry can exhibit at this show. And only people that work in private clubs can, can participate in it.
Tell us about the Metropolitan Club Foundation.
Metropolitan Club Foundation (MCF) and our charity fund are the beneficiaries of this event. The Metropolitan Club Foundation funds all kinds of scholarships. This includes food and wine scholarships, conference scholarships for people to attend the National conference and student scholarships for those in the industry pursuing management or hospitality degrees.
MCF also funds all of the monthly education speakers that come in to speak to the club managers. Another piece is our hardship fund. We raise money for managers facing hardship for whatever reason; they might have lost their home or are coping with a family illness or sudden death; there’s a mechanism there for managers to evaluate hardship for those in need and then help with some of their unforeseen expenses.
It’s so important that the vendors understand the positive impact they make on our industry. Some vendors already deal with most clubs but enjoy this show because they see everybody at the beginning of the season. Other vendors have said it’s the best regional show they participate in because everybody comes to visit them in five hours. It saves so much time from driving all over the tri-state region to do business. It’s the industry event of the year for the private club industry!
About 15 years ago, I was working at Willow Ridge Country Club when Paul Smith approached me and said, “Tommy, you do so much club business in the New York, Long Island, and Jersey areas. Why don’t you join us, get a booth at the Glen Island Harbor Club show, and participate in the Metropolitan Club Foundation Expo?”
With our family growing and many working part-time after school and full-time at the company, it was a great opportunity in our line of work. It has been nothing short of amazing. We started with one booth. Then graduated to two booths, and over the last eight to 10 years, we took over three booths. It’s also been a showcase event for us on a personal and business level. Our customers are friends, and they prefer to buy from us. The proceeds and the charity aspect sweeten it even more. As I get older, what I generally appreciate in life is to be able to give back. — Tommy Capobianco, HAFSCO
The pilgrimage to New Rochelle has been a Spring tradition for many Club professionals over the past 20 years. It’s a special time of year when we get to gather with some of the area’s best vendors, reconnect with some of our dearest friends and hopefully make new ones as well.
I recall making the trip back in 2001 as a sous chef. At that time, it was at Westchester Country Club, and it was great to see the faces of some of the companies I had become accustomed to doing business with, and also their extended product lines. In 2003, Glen Island Harbour Club started hosting, and for me, it had become even more special. It seemed that everyone had elevated their game.
Over the years, I have gone to many of the vendor shows. I have to say, this year I was even more impressed. The MCF had put together some very interesting education sessions and the club Chefs activation stations were amazing. Chef Justin Lozza’s scallop dish, Chef Blake Verity’s crispy short rib were definitely some of the highlights! All of the Chefs really delivered their best! The wine and spirits tastings were excellent! It was great to see some local products as well. ( I think next year I might break out the cocktail shakers and do a special activation with my team! #chefandchic) — Shaun C. Lewis, CCM, General Manager | COO, Old Westbury Golf & Country Club
