David's Anthem Journal

The Boulevard Philosophy

Until now, due to confidentiality requirements, the Trumpets Working Group has been unable to share with the community the details of the information submitted by the various applicants.

For my readers' information, I would like to quote a small portion of what Boulevard Bar & Grille wrote in their excellent Phase 1 package submitted to the Trumpets Working Group, which identified them from the beginning as a serious competitor:

We believe it is imperative to develop and maintain a positive working relationship with all of our business associates. We pride ourselves in our ongoing ability to create and operate in an open communication and respectful atmosphere, with both our clientele and our Associates.

One of our first endeavors would be to ask the residents and the Board how they feel we could best serve the community. We propose making our Customer Relations Manager available to the SCA Board for discussion of our quality of service to the members of the Association.

We propose to use Customer Evaluation Forms and a Customer Suggestion Box/Email Address as a sounding board for our performance. We would advertise in established community papers and bulletins, and also send direct mail to residents, as pre-approved by the Board. Making residents aware of both the availability and suitability of our facility to groups, clubs and organizations within the community, for activities and fund raisers, would be one of our goals.

Offering specials, discounts and entertainment on a regular basis, we have found, encourages loyal and satisfied clientele. A few of the items we would present to create such a win-win situation are:

Early Bird Specials - discounted between 4 and 6 p.m.

Frequent Customer Discounts - 10 for 9 cards.

Birthday & Anniversary - menu specials/discounts.

Special Event Theme Parties - Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Academy Awards, etc.

Golfer specials.

Entertainment - acoustic guitar/singer, piano player/singer, a capella group.

Trumpets Working Group to Recommend Boulevard Bar & Grille

The Trumpets Working Group has voted to recommend Boulevard Bar & Grille as tenant for the former Trumpets restaurant.

The vote came at the Group's April 14 meeting.

A public workshop with the Board of Directors, which will include a PowerPoint presentation, has been scheduled for Monday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m. in Freedom Hall.

At the April 24 monthly Board meeting, the Trumpets Working Group will recommend Board approval of Boulevard Bar & Grille and will ask the Board to direct the recently established Lease Negotiation Team to begin lease negotiations with Boulevard.

If Boulevard becomes the new tenant, that company has proposed "Top of the Town" as the new name for the restaurant. 

A Trumpets Working Group Title Correction

Some community residents who object to the way the Trumpets Working Group has gone about its business have given credence to an open letter by group member Kathy Matson, in which she raises certain concerns.

These critics have identified Kathy as "co-chair" of the Trumpets Working Group, undoubtedly because Kathy misidentified herself as such in her statement.

For what it's worth, Kathy, who has contributed much to the effectiveness of the TWG, is not co-chair.

We have never had a co-chair. Patti Shock was the original chair and Jose Madrid was the vice-chair. When Patti resigned, Jose was voted by the group to replace her, and I nominated Kathy to be vice chair, with the TWG voting in favor.

Resident "Yes" and "No" Opinions on Trumpets Applicants

A total of 997 people attended the six recent presentations by the three remaining applicants to become the Trumpets tenant.

The Trumpets Working Group has many elements to consider in planning for its recommendations, if any, to the Board of Directors. One of those elements, but far from the only one, is the input received from those who attended the presentations and filled out comment sheets.

Of those who answered "Yes" or "No," here is how the presentation attendees rated the candidates:

Boulevard Bar & Grille: YES--90%   NO--10%

Alba Brothers: YES--52%   NO--48%

LUVRules:  YES--59%   NO--41%

First Trumpets Presentations Attract Several Hundred

The owners/operators of Boulevard Bar & Grille gave afternoon and evening presentations in Hanneman Hall on Wednesday (Mar. 12), outlining their plans for the Trumpets restaurant facility if selected by the SCA Board of Directors to become the new Trumpets tenant.

A total of 234 residents attended the 3 p.m. presentation, with an additional 143 attending the 6 p.m. session, for an overall total audience of 377.

If selected as the tenant, we can say goodbye to the Trumpets name; the Boulevard people are proposing to call the restaurant Top of the Town, which met with audience applause when the plan to rename Trumpets was mentioned.

These applicants are also proposing significant changes in restaurant decor, and their design consultant was present to show examples of materials and color combinations which are under consideration.

In the photo (click on photo for larger image), Trumpets Working Group member Kathy Matson, who is also a reporter for Channel 99, interviews principals of the Boulevard group for a Channel 99 report.

As a member of the Trumpets Working Group who is aware that the other two applicants under consideration will be making presentations next week, I don't believe it would be fair for me to offer readers any value judgments about the Boulevard group's presentations. But I will say that the comprehensive information offered by this applicant was a good start for the process of asking the three applicants to engage with our residents.

First Trumpets Candidate Presentation

The first in a series of presentations to the community by the three current candidates to operate the Trumpets premises will take place this week.

Boulevard Bar & Grille will give presentations to residents and the SCA Board of Directors on Wednesday, March 12, at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The presentations will take place in Hanneman Hall at Anthem Center.

Residents attending the presentations will be able to ask questions, which they will be asked to submit in writing on cards provided for that purpose. Members of the Trumpets Working Group will collect the written questions and ask them on behalf of the residents.

In addition, those in attendance will have the opportunity to complete comment/suggestion forms, which will be used by the Trumpets Working Group to assess resident feedback as the Group completes the process of determining which of the candidates, if any, to recommend to the Board of Directors for its consideration.

Please plan to attend one of these presentations on March 12 if you want to know the details of what Boulevard Bar & Grille is proposing for the Trumpets property. The intent of the Trumpets Working Group is to give maximum credence to the opinions of those residents who attend the presentations and are fully informed about the proposals.

The other two applicants will give their respective presentations on March 17 and 18.

Comments on Trumpets Applicants Temporarily Prohibited

After consulting with Jose Madrid, the new chair of the Trumpets Working Group, I am instituting a temporary policy to block or delete all comments on the three remaining Trumpets applicants until after the third and final applicant presentations on March 18.

There are several reasons for doing this, NONE of which is because I want to prevent readers from expressing their opinions. The problem is that the Trumpets Working Group has been laboring diligently to follow a precise process to reach the point we are at, and uninformed comments and opinions are unfair to the Group and especially to the applicants themselves.

I have seen few if any comments from residents who have actually attended any of our regular open meetings or who have indicated a familiarity with the clear criteria laid out in the Request for Information document serving as the guideline for the applicants in dealing with us. All of the remaining applicants successfully complied with what was asked of them in the first phase of the process, and we are now deep into the second phase. Comments made under false assumptions and without a clear understanding of the formal steps we have been following are, in some cases, unnecessarily divisive and, frankly, sometimes based on ignorance of what has been happening despite our best efforts to keep the community informed.

Each applicant has been working hard to put together a complete, informative presentation for their respective appearances on March 12, 17 and 18. If you want to ask questions of the applicants or express an opinion in writing about them, you must attend the presentations and submit questions and comments at that time. After March 18, the blog will be opened back up for your input, which will be welcomed.

In the meantime, my belief is that it is disrespectful to the hard work and long hours put in by the Trumpets Working Group, and to the efforts of the applicants to reach out to us, for judgments to be rendered before you have the opportunity to see and hear the applicants.

Trumpets Working Group Chair Resigns

Patti Shock, Chair of the Trumpets Working Group (TWG), tendered her resignation Thursday (Mar. 6) afternoon. The TWG is expected to act promptly to appoint a new chairperson.

It is a great loss to not have Patti's services as the TWG enters the late stages of the process that will culminate with the recommendation(s) for a new Trumpets operator that will be given to the Board of Directors. Though Patti's credentials in the broad field of restaurant management and catering are highly regarded in her profession, some in the community, most notably Board member Bob Frank, questioned her qualifications.

It seems to this reporter, who is also a member of the TWG, that two factors contributed to Patti's decision to resign. One reason was her frustration over the unwillingness of a few TWG members to accept decisions that had been made by majority votes of the group, such as the decision to not hire the services of an outside restaurant broker to find the next Trumpets tenant.

The second reason, undoubtedly the more significant one, was a perception in some quarters that Patti had a conflict of interest because of her friendship with the head of the LUVRules group, which is one of the three Trumpets applicants remaining in contention. As an honorable person should always do in such cases, Patti disclosed this relationship at the very beginning of the TWG's existence, and she actually tried to resign at that time. But the majority of the Group, valuing the skills and experience she would bring to the job, prevailed upon her to remain.

In a message to TWG members on Thursday, Patti thanked them for their hard work and dedication, and expressed appreciation for their efforts. "I still have hopes," she said, "that you will not settle for mediocrity."

Trumpets Working Group Members Appointed to Lease Negotiation Team

At its February 28 meeting, the Board of Directors appointed the following members of the Trumpets Working Group to serve with others on the forthcoming Trumpets Lease Negotiation Team:

Steve Breslow
Steve is a Sun City Anthem homeowner who divides his time between Nevada and Colorado while he winds down his Denver business. He owned and/or managed restaurants for about 25 years, and is presently a business broker specializing in arranging restaurant leases. He has arranged and negotiated dozens of restaurant leases over his business career, and has clients who operate Italian, Japanese, brew pub, sports bar, and American bistro-type restaurants. Earlier, he was an executive with the T.G.I. Fridays restaurant chain.

Mike Furutani
Mike is a Sun City Anthem resident who remains active in Hawaii real estate as principal owner of Mike Furutani Realty for the past 20 years. Mike specializes in commercial real-estate sales and leasing, managing and development. He has nearly 35 years experience in commercial real estate, and developed, manages and owns more than 10 commercial properties.

Bob Lopez
Bob is a Sun City Anthem resident with extensive experience in the restaurant field. Holder of a business degree from Syracuse University, he owned a 600-seat cabaret/restaurant with more than 120 employees in New York City for 10 years, selling it and then establishing a full-service restaurant in New York. After moving to Florida, he established and operated another restaurant, and then became principal owner of North American Land Development Co., a Florida corporation. Throughout his career, Bob has had extensive experience in negotiating leases and arranging for the purchase and sale of restaurant and residential property.

Wayne Rohrbaugh
Wayne is a Sun City Anthem resident who had a career of more than 20 years with McDonald’s Corporation. He managed a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania and was a supervisor for six company-owned restaurants in New York State. He served as a field consultant for nine owner-operators with a total of 26 restaurants. Wayne was a senior training manager and acting dean of McDonald’s Illinois-based worldwide training center, the famous “Hamburger University.” His field of expertise for McDonald’s included the training of future owner-operators in understanding their lease terms and contractual obligations.

The Board also appointed Robert Murphy, who has been participating with the TWG in a liaison capacity. Robert, a member of the Finance Committee, is a Sun City Anthem resident with well over 30 years experience in business development, operational and general management, and financial and contractual administration. He has been a Certified Financial Planner and a Registered Investment Advisor. He has served on numerous boards of directors and executive committees in ventures around the world, with many responsibilities related to the administration of large-scale contracts involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Phase 2 Trumpets Applicants to Make Public Presentations

The Trumpets Working Group has announced the names of the three applicants who remain in competition in Phase 2 of the process to find a new operator for the Trumpets restaurant facilities.

The applicants are:

The owners of Alba Brothers Restaurant, located on Eastern Avenue.

The owners of Boulevard Bar & Grille, located on Las Vegas Boulevard South, across from the South Coast hotel-casino.

The LUVRules group, composed of restaurant professionals who do not operate a restaurant in this area.

Members of the Trumpets Working Group and the Board of Directors have participated in three tasting sessions, each with a different applicant preparing and serving samples of their cuisine.

The TWG is in the process of collecting additional information from the applicants in fulfillment of their Phase 2 application requirements.

Mark your calendars for March 12, 17 and 18. A different applicant will make presentations to our residents in the Anthem Center ballroom at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on those dates. It is expected that the applicants will discuss their respective visions for the Trumpets premises, their menu and pricing plans, and related topics. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to submit questions for the applicants to answer, as well as to complete forms to express their opinions of the applicants whose presentations they attend.