A new restaurant concessionaire gets cooking May 1 at the Auburn Golf Course.
And on that day, the eatery, formerly known as Copper Falls, gets a new name — Bogey’s Public House.
Auburn City Council members on Monday night approved with Longhorn Barbecue Outpost, Inc., a 7-year contract, which goes into effect May 1. The concessionaire has operated for a month at the golf course under a temporary agreement.
“I am looking forward to great opportunities out at the golf course, which is already up and running under a temporary agreement. This will remove the temporary agreement and put a contract in place, facilitating opportunities for renewal,” said Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus.
Visitors to the clubhouse will find new carpeting and a fresh paint job, but no structural changes.
According to the new contract, beginning May 1 Longhorn Barbecue Outpost begins paying the City $5,000 in monthly concession fees. By May 1, 2017 the fees will be $6,000.
According to the contract, either party can give 90 days notice to terminate the contract, without cause, or if there is a cause, the City has to give the concessionaire 30 days to correct the problem before it terminates the contract.
What’s more, the City is granting its concessionaire the exclusive right to operate one or more beverage-snack carts on the golf course. The cart, or carts, may serve and sell alcoholic beverages, food items and sundries. When the new contract goes into effect, such carts must be operational on at least the following days, although not necessarily during bad weather: seven days a week from May 1 through Labor Day; and Friday through Sunday from the day after Labor Day through Sept. 30,
Kava, LLC’s seven-year contract with the City ended last November. City officials said there were things they had wanted to see change at the restaurant, but the suggested amendments weren’t within the scope of what Kava wanted to do. They cited as well a lack of growth over the last seven years and a sense that the restaurant had stagnated.
“The City wanted to take it to a more popular level, especially with the golfers and active users. It really wasn’t a case of not making enough money or anything like that. Obviously, everybody wanted to make it more successful,” Daryl Faber, director of Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation, said in January.
Councilmember Bill Peloza praised the new contract for its clarity.
“With the previous operator we did have some confusion, and this, in my opinion, clears everything up very nicely. So now we know where we stand, and I’m very happy about that,” Peloza said.