NPB once again pursuing restaurant for country club
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
“That’s what it feels like,” said Andrew Lukasik, the village of North Palm Beach’s manager, after two unsuccessful years of trying to find the right restaurant for a new country club clubhouse under construction.
Lukasik confirmed that a deal to bring the operator of Jupiter’s The Bistro to the clubhouse has fallen apart, a year after a plan to bring the Carl Von Luger Steak & Sea- food, of Scranton, Pa., to the site also died.
Lukasik said Bistro operator Declan Hoctor wanted changes to the clubhouse, including enclosing an outdoor seating area so it could be air-conditioned. But the village had already changed the club’s design once to cut costs, and making changes now was not going to happen.
“So we had to part ways,” Lukasik said. Hoctor couldn’t be reached for comment.
A 2017 deal to bring Carl Von Luger to the clubhouse collapsed when the famous Peter Luger Steak House of New York sued Carl Von Luger in federal court for trademark infringement. Carl Von Luger operator Robert Dickert, who said he is a Luger kin, had wowed village officials with his Luger-esque food offerings, including dry-aged meat.
With the village 0 for 2 on restaurants, a clubhouse food operator once again is being sought.
Lukasik said the village already is talking to a couple of restaurants who are familiar with the village’s wishes. Failing that, the village also is talking about bringing a restaurant broker aboard to help it make a match.
The clubhouse at 951 U.S. Highway 1 was torn down to make way for a new, $18 million, 37,000-square-foot facility. Construction began last month, and the new clubhouse is expected to be completed by August 2019.
The new clubhouse will overlook the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, which was redesigned in 2006. The par71 course was closed earlier this year to install sod but will reopen in December.
Lukasik hopes to have a new restaurant selected by April or May, so the operator can set up the kitchen space and be ready in plenty of time for the late summer club opening.
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