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More than $500,000 of renovations have Windy Knoll Golf Club’s owners hoping residents will think of it for food as much as fairways.
The course has expanded its dining room into a full-service restaurant and its banquet facility to accommodate larger parties. According to the club’s City of Springfield building permits, $245,000 was spent refurbishing the restaurant and nearly $269,000 was spent to improve the banquet facility.
These upgrades were in mind when Windy Knoll was purchased two years ago, according to Managing Director Pete Duffey.
“We knew the best chance to be profitable was to expand the food and beverage portion to full-service,” said Duffey, who operates Windy Knoll in partnership with his dad, Dave Duffey, and cousin, Nick Tiller.
Windy Knoll had fallen into receivership about three years ago, with more than $4.5 million in debt, according to court documents. Nostalgic Golf LLC then purchased two parcels of land that make up the Windy Knoll Golf Club, at 500 Roscommon Drive, for $1.44 million in 2012 and since then have been working to improve the property.
The course’s dining room, The Stables, reopened earlier this summer as a full-service restaurant that will operate daily year-round and is open to the public. Duffey described the previous restaurant as a place to get a quick bite to eat and relax after a round of golf rather than and option for a sit-down meal.
The restaurant added a full-service commercial kitchen and offers full lunch and dinner menus that include steak, chicken and fish among its selections. Duffey thinks the dining experience can compete with chain restaurants.
The Stables seats up to 100 people and can accommodate dinner parties. A new covered patio was also added.
The 3,650-square-foot banquet facility, The Derby, was expanded to accommodate more than 200 people, up from 120. It can host everything from birthday parties, graduations and receptions to corporate events and fund-raisers.
“We were doing decent business, but found we were losing opportunities,” said Duffey. “We did a study that told us most banquet facilities had to accommodate 175-200 people.”
Duffey said the expansion has already resulted in several bookings for 2015 and even 2016.
The club now has 35 full- and part-time employees for its peak season; Duffey said the number will drop to about 18 as the season slows.
The course hosts around 30 golf scrambles each year, including popular local events hosted by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Jeff Wyler Springfield.
Duffey also stressed that although it’s called a golf “club,” Windy Knoll is a public course open to everyone.
The Derby will host one of its most important gatherings today when several area business and philanthropic leaders meet for a kickoff event for a charity fund-raiser, AIM for the Handicapped, planned for next May. It will feature World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez and Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.
“We’re very much into philanthropy,” said Duffey.
He believes the future is bright for the once struggling course.
“When we started we had a three-year plan to get things into place to be profitable,” said Duffey. “We’re trending that way and are putting together a foundation for the future.”
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