By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Ocean Pines Association’s food and beverage facilities are likely to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of improvements over the next few years to enhance the customer experience, with costs split between OPA and the vendor Touch of Italy.

The work will include basement renovations, an ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant elevator, second floor deck addition, and accordion doors at the Beach Club, an outdoor kitchen facility at the Yacht Club, as well as a shade structure at the Clubhouse Bar and Grille with a pizza oven.

The estimated potential capital spend at the Yacht Club for the outdoor kitchen’s structure is $125,000.

The overhang at the Clubhouse is expected to cost $75,000-$100,000, and the basement work and architectural/engineering plans at the Beach Club are likely to come to $75,000.

The Beach Club elevator is anticipated to yield a price tag of around $225,000.

At the OPA Board of Directors meeting on Saturday, Sept. 20, John Viola, the community’s general manager, requested permission to move forward with obtaining proposals, bids, and contracts to present to the governing group at a later date for these initiatives at the food and beverage facilities. Viola maintained that he did not seek approval for the actual spend, which will be a subsequent step.

The work on the food and beverage structures is OPA’s responsibility, while Touch of Italy will handle the “dressing up” of the buildings’ interiors.

“We are responsible for the structure,” Viola said. “We will continue to be responsible for our structure. [TOI] would be responsible for the interior. They would invest in kitchens, bathrooms, and bars.”

Ocean Pines leadership maintained that work at the Beach Club is a priority.

“We have put very little into the Beach Club over the last few years,” OPA Board President John Latham said. “There is a fair amount of work that can be done. It’s time for us to invest in that facility.”

Work here will include a second-floor deck, accordion door, an elevator, and basement renovations.

As for the Clubhouse, OPA will install a wooden overhang or a shade structure. Underneath, TOI will, at their cost, place a pizza oven.

A motion to proceed with the bid process for the overhang was passed. The shade structure is likely to cost between $75,000 and $100,000. Directors Latham, Rick Farr, Jeff Heavner, Elaine Brady, and Stuart Lakernick voted in favor, while director Steve Jacobs abstained.

Jacobs said that he could not push the shade structure toward the bid process, as he did not have enough information. Viola said that TOI will likely install a pizza oven underneath the overhang, but that the restaurant group will present their specific plans for the facilities, including the pizza oven for the shade structure, at a later date, likely next month. Jacobs said that he would have liked to hear TOI’s proposal before making a decision.

“I am unclear on what we’re approving here, if Touch of Italy is going to come in and tell us how they plan to use it,” Jacobs said. “I would like to have that information before we go ahead and approve some sort of building that may run the risk of sitting there fallow because we don’t agree with what Touch of Italy wants to do.”

At the Yacht Club, OPA will construct an outdoor structure to house a kitchen to service the tiki bar and pool area. Viola said that the building itself, to be paid for by the association, will be around $125,000. TOI will be responsible for the cost of the kitchen equipment.

The OPA board maintained that the new addition at the Yacht Club will be a win-win, providing more profits for the community and TOI, and offering an elevated restaurant experience.

“This [kitchen] will generate additional revenue while increasing the dining experience for the pool and patio area and relieve some of the stress in the [existing] kitchen,” Farr said.

The new kitchen structure will be placed in a location that does not encroach on the patio space.

Officials maintained that the approvals for these improvements were to simply move forward with the proposal and bid process, and that these costs are, at this point, an estimate. Contracts will be submitted to the board at a later date for final review.