From Yacht Club to Lakepoint
Construction on the biggest lake in Bella Vista, Loch Lomond in the Highlands in western Bella Vista, was started in 1978, and it was filled by 1982. (Loch Lomond was named after the original Loch Lomond in Scotland. According to the website, www.discoverwalks.com, there are a couple of hypotheses with regards to where the name Loch Lomond originated from. Loch, obviously, implies lake. Some accept the word Lomond originates from the Gaelic leaman, which implies elm, making it the “Pool of Elms,” while others presume Lomond starts from Laom, which means reference point.)
By 1980, plans were being made for a clubhouse next to Bella Vista’s Loch Lomond. According to the December 9, 1980, Weekly Vista, “James Gore, the chief engineer for Cooper Consultants, the engineering firm of Cooper Communities … explained that the marina club emphasis would be socially oriented with a bar and dance floor. … No date has been set for the clubhouse.”
The October 1, 1986, Weekly Vista announced the start of work on the marina and the nearby building, which would be called the Loch Lomond Yacht Club, saying “Preliminary work has begun. … The project will cost one million dollars and will include covered- and open-boat storage and two boat launching ramps. The building will contain three meeting rooms, a snack bar and cocktail lounge.” Completion date was estimated to be December 1988.
On July 27, 1988, the Weekly Vista reported that the Yacht Club was completed and deeded to the Property Owners Association, along with the Marina, from Cooper Communities. Total cost was $1.2 million. According to the Vista, “John Cooper Jr. gave the
deed and all keys to the building to POA general manager Jim Medin. With Cooper and Medin was the building’s architect, John Younkin of The Stuck Associates. … Medin said, ‘As far as furnishing the building, we are hoping that funds are found in the 1989 budget to do that.’” But in an effort to save operating expenses, the Yacht Club didn’t open until April 1, 1989, and even then, only as a snack bar. Pam Woods, who had been head cook and supervisor at the Metfield Clubhouse for 3.5 years, became the snack bar
manager at the Yacht Club.
Greg Clark, who was then the POA director of Food and Beverage Service, was quoted in the April 4, 1989, Weekly Vista as saying, “Village food service is activity driven, except for the Country Club. I don’t know if there will be enough activity around the Yacht Club to support full food service initially — the population may not be able to support full service for a while yet.”
Eventually, the Yacht Club did
become a full-service restaurant operated by the POA. However, it wasn’t making a profit and complaints began to increase about the quality of the food. By 2003, the POA Board had decided to find a lessee for it. In October 2003, Bob Sweet and John Smith began operating the restaurant as the first lessee. Mike Warner had invested with them, but their operation didn’t work out, so in 2005, the POA asked Warner to take over, which he did for about a year. After that, Shrimpman’s Inn moved from a few miles north of the Missouri state line and leased the Yacht Club from July 2006 to December 2011. The owners cited health reasons for giving up their lease.
The building then remained closed for several years, but the March 16, 2016, issue of the Weekly Vista reported that POA general manager Tom Judson was looking at trying to reopen the building and by May of that year, the renovation of the Yacht Club was approved. It was renamed the “Lakepoint Restaurant and Event Center,” to be staffed with POA employees rather than being leased out. The Event Center emphasis was planned to be on weddings and wedding receptions. A gazebo for wedding ceremonies was built between the building and the shore of the lake, and a wine bar was added at the far end of the building to complement the full bar attached to the restaurant. The remodeling cost about $1.3 million, and Lakepoint was opened in the early summer of 2017.
Of course, Lakepoint was affected last year by the covid pandemic, and masks and social distancing are still required, but now Lakepoint is open Wednesday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m., with the bar opening at 3 p.m. for Happy Hour, and Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The wine bar offers wine and spirits with indoor and outdoor water-view seating. The view from Lakepoint looking out over the nearly 500-acre Loch Lomond, especially at sunset, is one of the best sights in Bella Vista.
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