Ocean Pines yacht club opening set as new group outlines woes

Matt Ortt Companies representatives said they know they have a tough order to fill when it comes to turning around the Ocean Pines Association's food and beverage division. 

All eyes were on the Cove at Mumford's Landing (yacht club) and Beach Club during Thursday's town hall meeting as company officials outlined how they want to fix it.

The company discussed the yacht club's May 17 opening, menus, inflated liquor inventory and its own bonus goal and contract — all part of the plan to stop the bleeding losses from previous years. 

"We are a team," said Matt Ortt, founder and managing partner the company. "It is all we have ever done. I am invested in this community, town and where we live."

The Ocean Pines Association contracted Matt Ortt Companies for two years at $100,000 per year, and the Association can terminate without penalty.

Per the contract, the company will not make a $100,000 bonus if it doesn'tmake the budget, and the staff members would be on the Matt Ortt Company payroll, making it fiscally irresponsible to hire people and pay them any salary, according to Ralph DeAngelus, also a founder and managing partner. 

Background:Ocean Pines picks company to manage struggling yacht and beach clubs

More:Dolle's Candyland grows along with Ocean City

A packed room listened attentively for an hour as the company discussed how it will turn around the restaurant scene in Ocean Pines.

Representatives said they wanted to speak frankly and honestly about the state of the two restaurants.

"We want this to succeed probably more than you want us to," Ortt said.

DeAngelus said there was more good news than bad news, but the bad news was challenging.

He said inventory is "completely inflated," especially at the Beach Club.

Part of that is its inventory of liquor. He said there are 10 cases — 12 bottles each — of Calypso Rum, which is more expensive than other brands.

This hurts the bottom line, he said, because they need to reduce its inventory, and they could not sell it at the same price as other rums.

Another issue they had was an influx of Chivas Regal blended scotch.

"You will be sitting on those bottles of Chivas Regal until 2035," he said.

But DeAngelus said they expect to be able to work out of the situation.

Because of the buying power of Matt Ortt Companies, DeAngelus said he expects them to be able to return some of those liquors for an exchange.

"We are more of a hammer than a nail," he said.

The menu at the yacht club has not been completed yet, he said, but added it will not be a Rare and Rye — an Ocean City property managed by Matt Ortt Companies — menu. However, he said he expects the menu to be "just as good."

The prices, he said, will also be reasonable.

"When you are at home, you don't want to get railed," he said.

When DeAngelus announced there would be happy hour at both the Beach Club and yacht club, the whole room broke into applause.

Both the yacht club and the Beach Club had to undergo renovations, DeAngelus said. The flow into the yacht club has been changed, tables and chairs have been upgraded, the mold situation has been taken care of and the lighting has been changed.

It will no longer feel like dining at a cafeteria when eating at the yacht club, he said.

More:Ocean Pines hires forensic auditor to investigate possible missing money

More:Bryan Russo, a Delmarva music scene regular, takes his act national

The yacht club will have a soft opening Monday, May 14. The hard open will be on Thursday, May 17.

At the Beach Club, the hard open is scheduled for May 25 — Memorial Day weekend's Friday.

While the yacht club will be a traditional restaurant, the Beach Club will feature grab-and-go food, a move that drew applause from those in the room.

DeAngelus also said, under the contract, they are not doing anything with the Tern Grill or the snack bars at the pools.

As they wrapped up, DeAngelus said they have a "damaged brand" they need to repair.

He said as they work to repair the brand image, over time people will start to come back to the restaurants.

"It's not going to be in a day," he said. "I am asking for patience."

As they left, Ortt and DeAngelus received a round of applause from those in attendance, who were pleased with the way the meeting turned out.

Elaine Brady, a member of the Ocean Pines Communications Committee, said she thinks everyone in the room felt Matt Ortt Company's enthusiasm.

"And if the service and the food is as good as the enthusiasm from you guys, we are all are going to wind up winners," she said. "So I think it is very terrific. We are very happy to have you."

On Twitter @hughesg19