The Piedmont Club

The Piedmont Club Spartanburg, SC General Manager

The Piedmont Club is an exceptionally well-run, financially sound, premier private dining club that is an integral part of the local community. The Club’s food & beverage program is second to none—it is truly a gem of a club located in the heart of historic, downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Spartanburg is a city of 40,000 (part of a metropolitan area of 250,000), with great schools and four distinct, yet relatively mild seasons. Nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, this fourth largest city in the state is easily accessible to both mountain and beach resorts. Eight colleges call the area home including the University of South Carolina Upstate.

HISTORY Since its foundation, the Piedmont Club has been committed to its goal of providing great food and excellent service in comfortable surroundings. The Board of Governors has remained committed to preserving this goal and meeting the needs of the members throughout periods of growth and change.

The organization of the Piedmont Club developed out of Walter Montgomery’s desire to meet the needs of the growing number of businessmen who were drawn to Spartanburg by the booming textile industry. They needed a nice place to stay with good food. So with a vision to afford an additional dining opportunity in the Spartanburg area focusing on quality food in congenial surroundings, Walter Montgomery founded the Piedmont Club of Spartanburg. The organizational meeting of the Club's sponsors was held on June 5, 1941

ABOUT THE CLUB In the past seventy years, the Piedmont Club has experienced many changes in physical appearance and in membership while still maintaining its central purpose. Although the Board of Governors considered relocating the Club to a newer building in 1960, they decided the Montgomery house was still the best site, and the house has remained an integral part of the Piedmont Club and its proud history. To accommodate expanding membership, the Club purchased adjacent pieces of property. New additions, including a large dining room and several private dining rooms, were built during major renovations in the ‘70s, and again in 2001 it became necessary to expand the Club’s facilities. The addition of new formal dining, informal dining and lounge, porte-cochère and a courtyard porch has contributed to the enhancement of Club functions and expansion of membership use

Although the Piedmont Club began with primarily business-oriented activities, it has expanded to more social- oriented uses through activities such as family nights and relaxed attire dining. The expanded facilities allow use by members for private functions and events, and the Club holds an important place in the Spartanburg community by serving as the venue for a number of fundraisers, business meetings, and political functions for multiple organizations.

Club members also enjoy the benefits of reciprocal agreements with various clubs in other cities. Despite changes made in the operation of the Piedmont Club, it has remained dedicated throughout the years to providing quality food and service to its members and preserving the overall prestige of the Club The Piedmont Club has approximately 1,482 members (976 are resident members). The initiation fee is $2,000 and annual dues are $1,092 in the full membership classification. The Club’s gross volume is $3.5M.

FOOD & BEVERAGE OPERATIONS The Piedmont Club serves lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday. The Club is closed on Sundays except for special events. Dining rooms include the Fairforest Room, the Club’s formal dining room; the Cherokee Room, the informal dining room; and the General Daniel Morgan Room, the members’ lounge offering cocktails before dining.

The Piedmont Club has multiple private dining rooms available for parties and other special events. They include the Chinquepin Room (seats 8), Upcountry Room (8), North Tyger Room (24), Kate Barry Room (20), Pacolet Room (15), Crescent Room (80), and Palmetto Room (150). Al fresco options include the Outdoor Terrace, which can seat up to 125 people and the large, park-like square adjacent to the club.

Food and beverage revenue at the Piedmont Club is approximately $1.9M, and approximately 42% of food and beverage business is À la carte and 58% is banquet and special events.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The Piedmont Club operates under the General Manager organizational structure. The GM reports to the Board of Directors through the President. The Piedmont Club is governed by an 18-member lifetime-appointed Board of Directors. While the role of President rotates, the Secretary-Treasurer role is a permanent position and a key relationship for the GM, as is the relationship with the Club’s legal counsel.

The Piedmont Club has 38 employees. The Assistant Manager, Office Manager/Membership, and Housekeeping Supervisor report directly to the GM.

The Club is organized as a 501(C) 7, tax exempt, not for profit entity. It is in outstanding financial shape and has no member assessments. The Club has a conservative approach to finance and both funds depreciation and budgets for an excess of revenues over expenses, thus allowing it to fund annual capital expenditures and significant improvement projects without member assessments.

General Manager (GM) Position The General Manager (GM) has responsibility for day-to-day operations of the Piedmont Club. He/She directs and administers all aspects of the operations – the amenities, staff and all programs and activities relating to food/beverage operations, activities, and programs to ensure outstanding service delivery.

The GM is expected to be the epitome of the refined, yet dynamic spirit of the club, representing him/herself in an exceptionally appropriate manner at all times with each constituency of Club involvement---members, guests, staff, vendors and the greater Greenville/Spartanburg community at large.

The GM is responsible for the creation and implementation of all service standards and processes while providing leadership for managers and staff at the Piedmont Club. Clearly, a primary objective is for the GM to represent the Club to all constituencies, including the external community, and to ensure that goals and objectives are defined, understood, evaluated and enhanced on a continuous basis, to meet the expectations of the membership as defined by the Board of Directors in concert with the GM.

In addition to coordinating and supervising all of the management and administrative functions of the Piedmont Club, the GM will oversee the preparation of annual operating and capital budgets, supporting the strategic and tactical initiatives and expectations that he/she has established with the Board. The GM will be the primary Club representative to ensure that significant capital/asset/lease improvements are well conceived, thoroughly planned and executed, and that the status of such projects is consistently communicated to appropriate constituencies within the Piedmont Club.

The GM is the primary coordinator, through his/her long tenured team of management professionals, of food and beverage budgeting, hiring, training, orientations and teammate “culturization,” and supervision of associates. He/she will therefore be using and applying relevant and necessary marketing techniques to drive member usage of food and beverage operations along; assuring member and guest needs and desires are consistently met and often exceeded. Club member and guest satisfaction and enjoyment of the culinary and service experience at the Piedmont Club are primary “drivers” to its overall success.

The GM, as a strong and highly visible and respectful presence with the membership, must be an exceptional communicator, have adroit personal interactive skills and the maturity to instinctively know how to make members and guests feel that they are consistently treated in a gracious manner. Further, he/she must be able to communicate these expectations to staff with diverse backgrounds and get them to understand and execute to those expectations.

The GM is the key influence to ensure that members are engaged from a food and beverage programming, activities, servicing and experience perspective. Members are exceptionally social and active and the GM must be intuitively engaged and in tune with this very member-centric, fiscally responsible environment.

Primary Responsibilities

INITIAL PRIORITIES OF THE GM  Sincere and significant engagement of members, guests and staff. Learning member names and listening to their concerns and suggestions to implement appropriate and necessary improvements.  Observing, assessing and evaluating all areas of responsibility, and proactively working to identify and create a plan for continuous incremental improvement.  Assist in enhancing and further instilling a ‘culture’ where all staff are committed to consistently “doing it better every day.”  Employee training and development; looking to ensure that the “end to end” experience continues at a consistently high level.

PERFORMANCE METRICS  Membership satisfaction.  Financial performance.  Employee performance evaluations and satisfaction.

BUSINESS & FINANCIAL ACUMEN  Oversees the preparation of the annual operating and capital budgets and, after Board approval, manages and controls the operation to attain the desired results, clearly and effectively reporting on results to the Board and appropriate Committees. Maintains a multi-year operating and capital budget plan that supports the strategic long- term objectives of the Piedmont Club. The GM is innovative when it comes to capital project financing, looking for multiple alternatives toward reinvestment in Piedmont Club facilities, while being a strong advocate of the majority of members’ needs and desires.  Working with the President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Board of Directors, sets necessary and measurable metrics for successful operation of the F & B program, including regularly analyzing costs, inventories, daily/monthly financial statements and the Club’s competitive positioning in the F & B operation.  Proactively identifies strategic projects and business trends that are important to the long-term well-being of the Piedmont Club and offers recommendations and solutions to the Board and/or appropriate Committees for consideration. The GM, working closely with the Board, is most critically aware of club industry, economic, membership-related, trends that may impact the Piedmont Club, and is a catalyst in ‘staying ahead’ of expected negative impacts.  Is ultimately responsible to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for all of the Piedmont Club’s primary assets – membership, staff, amenities, assets and so forth – whether it be for physical safety purposes, or for protection of information and intellectual property of the Piedmont Club  Ensures that effective control systems are in place to monitor and identify the flow of work, receipts and expenditures, and that all are accomplished with the highest degree of integrity and accountability.  Is responsible for meeting sales, expense and surplus goals as outlined and approved in the annual operating budget, to which he/she has been an active participant in creating.  Installs controls and procedures in food and beverage operations, where necessary, to ensure consistent, efficient delivery of all member and staff services as per budget plan. Assures regular review of these procedures to ensure relevance and reliability of resulting information.  Provides clear and consistent input and direction to each associate on his/her team who hold accountability for service and product delivery to the membership and one another. Ensures that each has the appropriate and necessary tools with which to accomplish the desired objectives, while providing regular guidance and evaluation of outcomes.  Ensures that reliable and necessary monitoring of results is in place in order to be able to quickly respond to negative trending and to further enhance positive outcomes in the Piedmont Club’s food and beverage and clubhouse operations.  Oversees scheduling of labor plans in club operations, ensuring the appropriate and necessary staffing occurs in each area of the operation. Develops and executes necessary recruitment, orientation and training programs, and ensures that a regular evaluation of associates occurs to maintain compliance with expectations of delivery.  Is a catalyst with the Board of Directors for identifying new programs and services for members and guests, designed to increase usage and/or enjoyment of the Club facilities.  Develops annual, and more often as needed, short and long-term goals and objectives for clubhouse operations, including working with his/her team of associates to develop tactical solutions and enhancements to the member service experience at the Piedmont Club.  Develops interesting and innovative ways of promoting the Piedmont Club activities, recognizing the Club’s history of consistently raising the expectations of its members and guests, especially in the food and beverage operation.  Assists in planning and is responsible to ensure that special club events are well-conceived and executed.  Assists in planning and is responsible to ensure that internal marketing and sales promotions for the Food and Beverage operations occur on a timely basis, and in a manner that conveys a commensurately appropriate style and amount of information to members.  Is able to clearly understand the financial metrics for successful attainment of goals and objectives in all areas of responsibility, and consistently reviews these expectations with his/her direct reports to ensure understanding and ‘buy-in’ from those contributing to their attainment.  Has a strong sense of urgency and responsiveness, while also maintaining quality and integrity of the plan.  Recommends and upholds approved policies and procedures for all areas of club operations. Recognizes the need, and can perform to high levels of consistent service delivery in each of these operating areas.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE  A leader with strong food and beverage credentials and a proven track record of providing high-level services in a hospitality or membership constituency setting, and with a personality that is commensurately appropriate to the Piedmont Club culture. Simply a proven food and beverage leader who also understands the other key ‘drivers’ to overall club success.

 A confident, proactive team builder who has a history of attracting, developing and retaining a high performance staff.

 An intuitive style resulting in a sincere and visibly engaged presence with Members, Guests and Staff; a truly nice “people person.”

 Fundamental understanding of what constitutes a “premier club experience,” and the proven ability to execute to that level.

 Friendly, outgoing personality and a positive attitude. Is personable with members while maintaining a respectful professionalism.

 A verifiable track record of successfully leading and growing dynamic food and beverage and clubhouse operations including building revenues, controlling costs and meeting or exceeding planned and budgeted bottom line goals and objectives.

 Strong technology skills are essential including knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (especially Microsoft Excel) and POS systems. Candidate must be personally capable and comfortable with technology and incorporates its use, as appropriate in his/her everyday role.

 Knowledge and experience with audio/visual equipment and configuration/set up.

EDUCATION  A Bachelor’s Degree from a four-year university or college is highly desirable, preferably in Hospitality Management.

 In lieu of the degree, substantial private club or hospitality experience will be considered.

OTHER TRAITS, SKILLS & COMPETENCIES  Strong management skills with verifiable strengths in “self starting” leadership, financial performance, and “people” skills. Is able to establish and execute priorities.  Strong food and beverage credentials, and most importantly, the ability to consistently define and achieve goals and objectives. Proven and verifiable leadership qualities with demonstrated ability to direct, coordinate and control all facets of an active food and beverage operation.

 Strong attention to details; as well as understanding the big picture. Knowledgeable regarding typical club F & B and clubhouse facilities operations, critical benchmarking, and financial metrics.

 Exceptionally strong communication and facilitation skills, both written and verbal, with the appropriate personal presence, and a desire and ability to interact effectively before diverse constituencies of members, staff, vendors and other people who are part of the success of the Piedmont Club.

 Creative thinker and problem solver.

MISCELLANEOUS  A person of proven integrity and dedication consistent with the Piedmont Club values.

 A person who is committed to professional growth and development, for him/herself and his/her team of associates.

For more information about The Piedmont Club, please visit: www.thepiedmontclub.org. LEARN MORE For more information, inquiries, or to make your interest known to our firm, please email your resume and a personalized cover letter detailing your interest and your alignment with the qualifications and expectations to:

Nan Fisher Scottsdale Office 480-443-9102 [email protected] www.kopplinandkuebler.com