The Ocean Pines Association has requested proposals from new firms to manage the community’s food and beverage service at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, the Ocean Pines Beach Club and the Clubhouse Bar and Grille.
The Ocean Pines Yacht Club is pictured on a busy night.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Ocean Pines Association has requested proposals from qualified firms to manage the community’s food and beverage service at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, the Ocean Pines Beach Club and the Clubhouse Bar and Grille.
Matt Ortt Companies is the community’s current food and beverage vendor. The group, which also operates Coastal Salt and the Ocean City Rum Shack on the 16th Street Boardwalk, signed a two-year deal with OPA to manage the neighborhood’s food service locations in March 2018. The agreement involved a $12,500 monthly management fee with eight payments due May 2018 through Dec. 2018, totaling $100,000, and eight payments due May 2019 through December 2019, also totaling $100,000. The first year of the agreement included a budget bonus and a profit bonus. The budget bonus would pay “fifty percent of every dollar of net income generated … that exceeds the budget,” up to $50,000 at each facility. The yacht club budgeted a $92,961 net loss and the beach club budgeted a $101,308 net gain.
Also included is a profit bonus “if the combined net income for the facilities results in a net profit of more than $100,000” based on a sliding scale: 10 percent for $1 to $25,000, 20 percent for $25,001 to $50,000, 30 percent for $50,001 to $75,000, 40 percent for $75,001 to $100,000, and 50 percent for upwards of $101,000. The year-two bonus structure offered a doubled bonus if the combined net income of both facilities in fiscal 2020 was greater than the combined net income of fiscal 2019.
That initial arrangement was extended by five years in 2020, which provides for a half-million dollar payout to the food and beverage service and a $19 per property owner subsidy by the Ocean Pines property owners.
With that accord set to expire next year, community officials have elected to seek proposals from firms outside the Ortt company rather than simply negotiate a renewal agreement with the vendor. OPA Board of Directors Vice President Rick Farr said the decision was based on advice from the homeowner association’s legal counsel, Bruce Bright of Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy, and Almand, and the community’s governing documents regarding the RFP (request for proposals) process.
The OPA bylaws state that “all purchases and contracts for services or supplies for the Association shall, to the fullest extent practicable, be made by open competitive procedures.” While Matt Ortt Companies has not been prohibited from bidding on the new contract, they may still vie against additional proposals if they apply for the management slot.
“It is our fiduciary responsibility as board members to our community to follow our bylaws and governing documents and ensure all protocols are followed for the recommendations by our General Manager that is in the best interest of all of Ocean Pines membership,” Farr said.
OPA General Manager John Viola reported in 2023 that since the original contract with Matt Ortt Companies “met or exceeded combined operating profit targets of $130,000, $175,000, and $190,000 in consecutive years.”
Most Ocean Pines residents have continued to express their satisfaction with Ortt.
“Matt Ortt and his operations have been doing a fantastic job,” OPA resident Jerry Murphy said during the June 13 Board of Directors election candidate forum. “The Yacht Club used to never have any good food. Matt has put together an operation that attracts.”
On Friday, Sept. 13, the day the community announced the proposal request, Ocean Pines citizen Budd Shea wrote on the community’s online forum that, “Ortt has done an outstanding job, but…nothing helps business better than competition.”
Despite residents’ satisfaction with Matt Ortt, the OPA Board of Directors has elected to hear out new firms interested in managing the community’s food and beverage operations.
The official request outlines the scope of work for which the selected vendor will be responsible. The document can be found on Ocean Pines’ official website. The contractor will oversee management and operations, including janitorial services, banquet functions, and the handling of live entertainment at the Yacht Club from Thursday through Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The firm will also ensure that the menu and pricing are of quality and variety that meets Ocean Pines’ needs, administer staffing, coordinate events, and maintain the facilities and equipment.
Proposals from applying contractors are due by Oct. 18. OPA will accept questions from potential consultants through Oct. 4. The official RFP states that firms must include a “detailed operational and business plan for managing the facilities ” in their application.
The outline must describe a management approach, a menu and pricing strategy, a banquet and events plan, a financial proposal, an entertainment schedule, a revenue proposal, a facility maintenance plan, experience, and qualifications, including three references.
OPA officials are seeking a contractor who will cater to the community’s needs.
“I, and I am sure all association members, are looking for outstanding food and beverage services to all our Ocean Pines facilities; ensuring high standards of service and customer satisfaction are met,” Farr said.