They came first out of loyalty.

“When we first opened for business, we had a couple come in from Amherst, who wanted to check it out,” said Claudio Guerra, referring to Paradise City Tavern, the prolific restaurateur’s latest venture, which opened in Northampton in July. The couple had been fans of the now-closed Del Raye Bar & Grille, a far more elegant restaurant that was closed to make way for this new, upscale pub.

“As they looked at the menu, I said, ‘how do you like it?’” Guerra said. “They said, ‘we don’t.’ So I asked why. They said, ‘why would we cross the bridge for hamburgers and beer?’”

But they stayed and ordered: a burger, a flatbread pizza, and a couple of draughts. “I walked over later and asked how everything was, and they said, ‘OK, this is worth crossing the bridge.’ That’s my favorite moment here.”

That satisfaction derives, no doubt, from the challenge of convincing people that quality food is quality food, no matter the price or décor. Because a tavern this is — albeit one with a few twists.

“We’re trying to provide the most delicious but affordable pub food we can produce,” Guerra explained. “A burger is not just a burger; we’re trying to do the best hamburger you can find. The french fries are cut every day from raw potatoes. And the flatbread pizzas are made with some whole wheat in them, not some generic garbage.”

‘Generic,’ in fact, is not a word that comes to mind when perusing the flatbread options. Sure, the ‘Gumba’ is loaded with traditional pepperoni, meatball, and sausage, but more adventurous palates might appreciate the ‘Frenchy,’ with duck confit, melted leeks, and goat cheese; or the ‘Ham & Gruyere,’ which features those two toppings along with green grape slices.

Somehow, the ingredients fit together — just like the diverse destinations that make up Guerra’s ever-expanding chain.

Finding a Home

Born in Germany to Italian parents, he emigrated to New York City as a boy in 1963, and literally grew up around the restaurant business. His father first worked seven days a week between two jobs — as a head waiter for a top French restaurant, and as the night manager for a second, 24-hour French eatery. After 10 years, he had saved enough money to move to Long Island, where he opened his own restaurant, eventually expanding that endeavor to four establishments.

The younger Guerra, meanwhile, spent his boyhood checking coats, busing tables, and washing dishes, and after high school, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He underwent a two-year apprenticeship in Bavaria, Germany, then returned to America in the early 1980s to help his father open a restaurant in Hartford, Conn. called the Mill on the River.

On his days off, he took road trips to find a place where he could launch an enterprise of his own. When he arrived in Northampton, he fell in love with it — even though the town was far from the bustling center of arts and culture it is today. He ate that first night at the Eastside Grill, which was packed, but didn’t have a lot of competition.

Guerra started to see possibilities, realizing in short order that Northampton was populated by educated, progressive-minded people who appreciated quality and creativity in a restaurant. Pizzeria Paradiso was his first venture there, followed in the next several years by two additional downtown ventures, the more upscale Spoleto and Del Raye.

Over the past several years, Guerra expanded his empire further, opening two more Northampton restaurants — Spoleto Express, a lunch-oriented Italian eatery; and Mama Iguana’s, serving Mexican fare — and a second Spoleto in East Longmeadow. But while the lower-priced establishments have been humming along fine, he noticed a trend at the Del Raye.

“For years, it was a home run,” he told BusinessWest. “But, to be honest, after 9/11 we saw a gradual slowdown in business, which accelerated in the middle of last year. The Del Raye opened up 10 years ago, but it’s a completely different economic environment today. When people are starting to put $60 or $70 in their gas tank, they think twice before they spend $60 or $70 for dinner. So the writing was on the wall.”

Paradise City Tavern is a different entity altogether, although the culinary staff from the Del Raye is largely intact. In addition, the restaurant features 12 microbeers on tap (Guerra said he could offer more, but wants the kegs drained quickly to keep the beer fresh), and is also among just 500 or so locations in the U.S. to serve up what’s known as cask ale, which is beer brewed right in the barrel from which it’s eventually tapped.

“Cask beer is called ‘real ale’ in Europe,” said Bill Collins, operations manager of Guerra’s restaurant chain. “All the yeast is still there, so it’s naturally carbonated. It’s got a much different flavor than other beer, and it’s served at about 59 degrees, not ice-cold. It’s got a cult following … it’s the way beer was first drank.”

Guerra agreed. “It’s closer to the pure taste of what the brewer intends,” he told BusinessWest. “I come from a philosophy that the less food is handled and futzed with, the happier I am with it. And this is as real as it gets. The customers here are really educated about beer, and they’re really thrilled about the casks.”

Unlike other restaurants he’s operated, this one doesn’t cater to one niche, said Guerra. “We get an early family-dinner crowd because we’re family-friendly, and then there’s a normal dinner crowd, and then after they leave, we get the drinking crowd. In fact, we’re open from 4 to 2, and half our sales here are after 11. We’ll bring in bands and DJs, and it turns into a spontaneous party.”

All in all, he’s happy with his latest venture, although he was nervous about turning the Del Raye — an elegant, white-tablecloth type of establishment — into a tavern. But it was a move he felt he had to make.

“A lot of people hang onto a model they’re familiar and comfortable with,” Guerra said. “I think a lot of people, in my shoes with the Del Raye, would have tried to stick it out, and probably not successfully. The Del Raye was special to me; I met my wife there. But, while it was painful, I made the decision to get rid of it.

“In business,” he continued, “you have to stay up on the times and be hyper-aware of the realities of your competition, the economy, and the mood of the customers. You have be flexible like Play-Doh and keep moving if you’re going to be successful.”

Having a Ball

Besides the music, Paradise City Tavern strives to throw other creative entertainment at guests. The day Guerra spoke with BusinessWest, the staff was getting ready to show the cult stoner-bowling flick The Big Lebowski on one of the five large-screen TVs, and giving away 50 games courtesy of Northampton Bowl.

And next spring will see the addition of an outdoor deck, which will add about 100 seats. One reason Guerra didn’t build one right away is that he knew business would be strong when the restaurant first opened, and wants to extend the excitement into next year by creating a second buzz around the deck.

Guerra’s philosophy has always been simple — “you have to treat your customers and your employees they way you’d like to be treated,” he said — but his strategy in such a crowded restaurant market is more complex. It comes down to knowing what a community needs, he said, and then providing it.

“If you’re driving into town and you want a place that has good food, microbeers, a lot of sports on TV, now you’ve got a place,” he continued. “It’s filling a niche; it’s not rocket science. And today, the lower you can charge for quality food, the busier you’re going to be. It’s a function of the economy. People are nervous — as they should be.”

All the more reason to escape from stress with a flatbread pizza and a drink — even if you have to cross a bridge to do it.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at[email protected]

The original plan was for something much different — a simple luncheon facility catering mostly to the business crowd. But those plans changed, considerably, and what has emerged with the 350 Grill is an intriguing addition to the downtown Springfield restaurant and entertainment scene, one that appeals to many different audiences.

Sherri Via says that, although the original business plan for the 350 Grill wasn’t actually written in pencil, it might as well have been.

That’s how much things changed since the initial concept was first put on the drawing board close to two years ago.

Indeed, what was originally conceived as a venue to provide a significant upgrade to lunch offerings for the neighboring Mardi Gras gentlemen’s club has instead become one of the more intriguing and successful additions to the downtown Springfield restaurant and entertainment scene.

Instead of the burgers-and-hot-dogs menu originally contemplated by Via — a long-time employee and, in many respects, business partner of Jim Santinello, who owns the Mardi Gras and other venues — 350 Grill features a wide array of steaks, a ‘Kansas City veal chop,’ and ‘lobster ravioli.’ It’s a mix, and a venue, that is drawing constituencies from downtown businesspeople to some of the bikers who invade the city on Thursday nights during the warmer months.

“Things just kept … evolving,” said Via, who used that word early and often as she talked about this entrepreneurial venture in progress, which will soon celebrate its first year in business with high hopes and expectations for the future. “One thing just led to another and, well, here we are.”

While all that evolution has created a successful addition to Springfield’s entertainment sector, it has led to some growing pains as well, said Via, who brings roughly 30 years of experience in the hospitality sector to her role as proprietor of the ‘Grill.’

The kitchen, for example, is much too small and in other ways inadequate for the menu being featured. “It has only eight burners, and that’s clearly not enough,” Via said, noting that this situation led to some early problems and even a few apologies from management concerning service.

But there are plans being readied to rectify that situation, she continued, adding that there are other remedial steps being taken or in discussion. First and foremost, the building to the other side of the restaurant, an eyesore for decades, will be razed this fall, providing space for additional parking, she said.

Meanwhile, the Grill’s menu continues to change, providing a degree of freshness that Via demands, and new wrinkles continue to be added. In other words, the evolution is ongoing.

The Pasta Is Prologue

Via acknowledged that some people might naturally have had doubts about whether last December was the time, and downtown Springfield the place, to be launching a new restaurant.

But she had no such doubts.

Although 350 Grill was a work in progress right up until the day it opened — and even after the ribbon was cut — she believed in the concept, and also in Springfield and its downtown.

“I think Springfield can and will come back, and I believe we’re a part of that process,” she said. “What the city needs is some positive thinking about what has happened, and what will happen down the road.

“Overall, the more businesses — restaurants — you have downtown, the better it is for everyone,” she continued, clearly espousing the ‘grow the pie’ theory of the hospitality sector that embraces competition. “When that happens, you create vibrancy, and sooner or later, people will come to your establishment.”

Via said her decision to press on and create the restaurant that patrons see today was based more on gut instinct than any real market research into whether such a venue was wanted or needed. And thus far, her instincts appear to be good.

Flashing back to early 2007, Via said the 350 Grill — the original version of the eatery — was born of need, specifically a desire to vastly improve the quality and quantity of lunch offerings for Mardi Gras patrons. Needless to say — although she did say it in several ways — the plans changed.

As renovations to what was a long-time dance club started to take shape, Via said she sensed an opportunity to go well beyond the original vision and create something far more upscale that would attract a larger and significantly more diverse clientele. Such an opportunity dovetailed nicely with her own career ambition to operate a fine-dining establishment.

What eventually emerged is called a steakhouse by some — because there are several different cuts on the menu — but it is much more than that, said Via.

There are a number of seafood options — from sea bass to swordfish to shrimp florentine — as well pasta dishes, chicken, lamb, and more. Meanwhile, the menu of appetizers, or tapas, is diverse and includes everything from artichoke francaise to veal meatballs.

The lunch menu, which has proven to be popular among the business crowd, has some usual suspects — a signature burger, a Reuben, and a turkey melt, for example — but also a grilled swordfish sandwich and a ‘blue plate special.’

Via’s sister, Doreen, presides over the cramped kitchen as executive chef, and she changes up the various menus every four months, said Sherri, to keep the overall product fresh.

The need to continually alter and add to the menu is just one of many lessons Via says she learned over more than three decades in the hospitality business that she is now applying to 350 Grill. Others include everything from the need for a constant focus on value — in whatever ways it can be achieved — to keeping the bathrooms clean.

“I’ve been a waitress, a bartender, a hostess, a manager … you name it, I’ve done it,” she said. “And I’m glad I’ve done all those things because I have insight into those jobs and every aspect of this business.

“You learn a few things when you’ve been in this business as long as I have,” she continued. “The key is to successfully apply what you’ve learned.”

Meanwhile, Via is tapping into her contacts within the business and cultural communities (she’s on the board of directors of CityStage and Symphony Hall and is heavily involved with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society) to tap into those constituencies and thus grow her customer base through what is always the best marketing tool in this business — word of mouth.

And while the first year or so in operation has generally exceeded most expectations, Via knows that the restaurant business is more challenging than most not in it would think. Consumers are fickle, she explained, and economic conditions can change the scene in a heartbeat.

That’s why she’s focused on applying those aforementioned lessons, listening to customers, and responding with continuous changes and improvements.

A Job Well-done

Indeed, as she talked with Business-West, Via was getting ready for the lunch crowd — and also a meeting with an architect to discuss options for expanding the grill’s kitchen.

It’s not a question of whether that will happen, but how, she said, adding that, in many respects, the evolutionary process continues at this venue, which didn’t take the shape of those original plans.

And no one’s complaining.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

“Closing the gap.”

That’s a phrase you hear at most all private country clubs these days — and it gets right to the heart of the matter.

The gap, in this case, is the differential between what a club wants its membership number to be and what it happens to be. And while the size of the gap varies — from a few members to a few dozen or more — all clubs have one, and this phenomenon is part of a changing dynamic in the private-club realm.

Indeed, while declines in membership are nothing new — they always accompany downturns in the economy — the current gaps are different because closing them represents a sterner challenge than in the past, and it will be this way for the foreseeable future.

That’s because times are changing, said Chris Tsandilas, general manager at Crestview Country Club in Agawam. He told BusinessWest that, while country club memberships never really sold themselves, today they are in many ways a harder sell. There are many reasons for this, but primarily, people today, especially members of younger generations, have many alternatives for spending their time — and their money — and a country club membership doesn’t move near the top of the list as easily as it once did.

“Today, people think long and hard before they join a private club,” said Tsandilas. “You have to create a reason or reasons to join … you have to create an atmosphere.”

For most clubs, this means working harder on selling themselves, and in some cases, this involves old-fashioned marketing — if the bylaws and tax code permit.

Crestview, which has a current gap of about 20 members, is one of those clubs doing such marketing, and its messages and their presentation speak to those comments about ‘reasons.’ In one print ad, the phrases “championship golf course,” “no tee times,” “practice facilities,” “family recreation,” and others are in a bigger, bolder typeface because they speak to the benefits that golfers and families can realize from membership.

Meanwhile, another ad references a “home away from home” atmosphere, which, said Tsandilas, is what many families are looking for in the post-9/11 era — a safe place for children and a relaxing atmosphere for adults that doesn’t require getting on an airplane.

Jody Cunningham agreed. She’s the first woman president in Springfield Country Club’s 110-year history, which makes it one of the oldest clubs in the country. She presides at a time when the membership capacity is 400 and the current gap is about 50. Some members would prefer that SCC not close that gap (the course would be less crowded), but club officers want at least a smaller number to ensure that an institution on solid financial ground remains that way.

And to do that, it is putting heavy emphasis on families, said Cunningham, adding that this is a national trend to which SCC and all other clubs must respond.

While focusing on families, clubs are also trying other strategic initiatives aimed at adding value to the equation. Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow, for example, has lowered its fees by roughly 20% (it is even publishing its rates, which is almost unheard of in this industry — but there’s a reason), while adding such amenities as on-site therapeutic massage, new stand-alone junior memberships, and a dining membership.

The club, which has survived a battle to turn its acreage into a housing development, had what current President Bob Bonsall called a make-or-break year in ’07, and made it. Golf membership, which was at an anemic 160 to start last year, is currently at 215, still well below the 240 Bonsall and others have set as the goal for this year, and it could ultimately go as high as 300. If it does, the club will have gone a long way toward ending what has historically been underutilization of the course and many of its facilities.

Like others we spoke with, Bonsall said that joining a club is an investment, and clubs have to be diligent and imaginative in finding ways to convince people that these are investments worth making.

In this issue, BusinessWest looks at the changing landscape for private clubs, and how they’re all working to close those gaps.

Dues and Don’ts

Hubert deRenzy says it feels like he’s been membership chair at SCC “forever.” It’s been several years, anyway, and he’s been a member at the club since the early ’80s. He’s seen a number of changes, especially in recent years, regarding demographics — no longer are club memberships dominated by specific ethnic or religious groups; ‘diversified membership’ and ‘melting pot’ are the phrases heard today — and overall image.

“It’s no longer the cigar-smoking, card-playing, old boy’s network,” he explained. “Those people are getting older … there are still card games, but no cigar smoking, obviously. Today, it’s about women and young families.”

To attract them, Springfield, like other clubs, is becoming somewhat less formal, although some clothing policies remain, while creating more programs that families can enjoy together. This is what members of Generation X, who are starting to join clubs, are looking for, said Cunningham.

“They’re forgoing the vacations where they’re going away,” she said of that constituency, citing personal experience and anecdotal evidence. “They want places where they can have structured and non-structured activities, where they can drop the kids off and know they’re safe. We’re noticing that with a lot of our social memberships.”

The club is responding with initiatives like the so-called Camp for Champions, a summer program that involves both children and their parents.

“They can do tennis, golf, swimming, arts and crafts, even family bingo out by the pool,” said Cunningham. “There are teen pool parties, where they can float in an innertube and watch a movie; it’s all about the family … what can we provide for their kids, and what can we provide as a family unit.”

By responding with family-oriented programming, the club is broadening its appeal — and its audience, said Cunningham, noting that this is the challenge facing all clubs in the current environment.

Tracing recent history at Crestview, Tsandilas said membership had been steady until earlier this decade, when it started trending down, for reasons that are now considered part and parcel to national patterns. Eventually, club officers decided to “get serious,” as he put it, about shoring things up.

A number of strategic initiatives have been or are still being discussed, he told BusinessWest. These include everything from opening the dining room to the public — a step that was rejected — to establishing a real-estate component that would create what Tsandilas called “instant members” (an option that is still on the table, but considered impractical at this moment) to marketing efforts.

The club had never marketed itself before, and that step was certainly not commonplace in this region when it was first discussed a few years ago, said Tsandilas. But it was becoming more prevalent in other regions of the country, he continued, and when members brought back magazines and newspapers from other regions that had ads for private clubs, talks escalated, and Crestview eventually decided to “take the leap.”

Working with Stevens Design Studio in Westfield, the club has put together a marketing campaign that features print and radio ads that center on the benefits to golfers that are not to be found on public courses (no waits for tee times) and that ‘home away from home’ theme.

“This can be your second home, instead of a trip to the Cape,” he said. “You can vacation here.”

Efforts to get serious have reduced the gap in recent years, said Tsandilas, noting that there is still work to be done. “Twenty members makes a difference,” he explained, noting that, by his estimates, each member spends roughly $10,000 with the club each year. “That’s money we could definitely use to provide our members with the atmosphere and services they deserve.”

Food for Thought

SCC’s tax status doesn’t permit advertising, said deRenzy, adding that the prevailing strategy at that club is to make all members feel as if they are part of the membership committee and share responsibility for gap-closing duties. And they’re given incentives, such as pro shop credits, for doing so, a tactic being repeated at many other clubs.

While looking for new members, those at Springfield are also debriefing those who are leaving, to track the reasons why and see if there are patterns that the club can address. Meanwhile, SCC is reaching out to some who have left, he continued, with the hope of bringing them back on some level, perhaps as dining members.

Twin Hills has had good success with a dining membership featuring no food minimums that it introduced last year as one of many steps to stabilize and increase membership, said Bonsall. Other initiatives included a business membership that did not fare as well, and an overall reduction in fees aimed at convincing prospective members that a club traditionally viewed as expensive is in fact within their price range.

Overall, Bonsall explained, Twin Hills has been underutilized, a condition that resulted from bylaws, since revised, that capped golf membership at 250. The course can handle many more, and so can the dining room, he said, adding that the dining membership is targeted at residents of Longmeadow and nearby Enfield — which boasts many over-55 housing developments — who don’t have a wealth of dining options.

“Longmeadow doesn’t have many restaurants, and many people are looking for a reliable place with a quiet, relaxed atmosphere,” he said, noting that Twin Hills sold about 90 dining memberships last year, and would like to get that number to 200 or beyond.

“Historically, we’ve been underutilized, and underutilizing your facilities doesn’t make much economic sense,” said Bonsall. “It doesn’t make any sense to have the dining room just sitting there and the banquet facility just sitting there, and the golf course there with no one using it, so we’re just emphasizing ways to increase utilization.

“We recognize that, nationally, the demand for the game of golf and for the country-club lifestyle is way off from what it was five to 10 years ago — that’s a phenomenon that affects everyone,” he continued. “So in effect, we’re competing for a smaller pool of potential members; in our view, that means we have to figure out how to appeal to a broader segment of the population, and we’re doing that by repositioning the club.”

Ludlow Country Club already appeals to a fairly broad audience, said current Vice President Peter Karalekas, noting that membership traditionally hovers around 520, much higher than most other private facilities. It’s currently at 490 or so, and many members like that number because it represents opportunities to get better tee times on weekends.

But, like Tsandelis, Karalekas said a few dozen memberships adds up, especially at a time when fuel prices and many other expenditures are soaring.

“I could live with this number [490] if the membership demonstrates a willingness to pay higher rates, but at the moment, I haven’t exactly seen any such willingness,” he said, noting quickly that dues numbers lower than those at many other clubs (and that haven’t increased in three years) have created that larger membership.

Besides, higher fees probably would not offset additional losses in membership or other losses in revenues, he said, leaving LCC in the same boat as other clubs — closing the gap.

He’s confident Ludlow can do that, perhaps with a simple push on junior memberships, but he’s concerned about the bigger, longer-term picture. LCC’s membership is aging, and he wonders out loud whether there will be enough members of the younger generations to fill the void.

“Everyone’s essentially fishing in the same, smaller pond,” he said. “I’m not sure we’re there yet, but soon we’ll be oversupplied when it comes to clubs in this area.”

Join the Club — Please

Just before talking with BusinessWest, Tsandilas sold another membership, closing the gap to that 20 figure.

Like most before it, this sale was several weeks in the making, he said, adding that this is an indication that few, if any, are rushing to join clubs today. Prospective members are being deliberate and weighing all their options, meaning not just other clubs, but also other uses for dues and other expenses.

In these changing times, he stressed again, people are thinking long and hard before signing on the dotted line, and they need good reasons to do so.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]