Missing the green

Food, beverage vendor at city-owned golf courses fails to make profit

By Amy Hamilton
Sunday, January 1, 2012

The food and beverage vendor since April for the city-owned Tiara Rado and Lincoln Park golf courses spent the day Friday packing up and closing shop.

Miles Blackford, who operated The Irons at Tiara Rado, said he wasn’t able to make a profit at the business venture.

“It was disappointing,” he said Friday at the Tiara Rado clubhouse as his staff deep-cleaned the kitchen. “I had high expectations.”

Blackford had been under contract with the city for two years, but city officials allowed him to break it.

Blackford said it was difficult to turn a profit without having enough outside parties and events to supplement business from golfers.

The longtime contractor prior to Blackford, Steve Hoefer, who operated the business as Pinon Grill, drew fire from city officials after complaints about outside parties cutting into customer service expected by golfers. Hoefer, however, said at the time that outside parties were essential to his business model and accounted for 35 percent of sales.

As part of the contract with Blackford, city officials dictated the business could cater to parties, but golfers’ needs came first.

During the summer months, business from golfers was nearly sun up to sundown, so it left little opportunity to bring in outside events, Blackford said.

The city is inviting prospective vendors to show interest in operating the business with an initial deadline Friday. Information is under the bids section of the city’s website, http://www.gjcity.org.

Rent is $800 a month at Tiara Rado, and the city collects 5 percent of sales.

A vendor is responsible for paying utilities.

However, the city is prepared to help a vendor with marketing, and the dining room may be due for some renovations, Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Director Rob Schoeber said.

“We want to continue with the public-private partnership and work with them to try to support the business,” he said.

“We realize (that a successful business) is in our best interest as well.”

Residents were outraged early last year after Hoefer’s contract expired and Two Rivers Convention Center, a city-run organization, was allowed to bid and received the bid over Hoefer and another private entity, Venema.

Grand Junction City Council members at the time had not been apprised that Two Rivers had bid on the contract until it had been completed.

They then ordered the process to start over without the city agency included.

In late February, Blackford, under the business name Two Miles LLP, and Jeanne Carver bid on the contract, with Blackford earning more points in a tasting and presentation event.

In an interim period between the closing of Pinon Grill and Blackford opening The Irons, Two Rivers took over operations with a loss of $11,000, Schoeber said.