MINNESOTA VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB: CREATING A PUB EXPERIENCE
Location:
Bloomington, MN
Scope:
Furniture
Timeless elegance. That’s what members should feel from the moment they set foot in Minnesota Valley Country Club, whether they’re attending a formal wedding or coming in from the 18th green to tally their scores. When the historic, 100-year old venue set in the rolling terrain of the Minnesota River Valley decided to build a new pub on the lower level of the club they turned to the experts at Boelter to ensure the best outcomes for the new space.
Experts in the Field
Foodservice is a very broad category, and each niche brings with it special considerations. That’s where the experts at Boelter have an advantage. Bill Ziegler, director contract & design, has years of experience in foodservice that includes many clients within the country club segment. He deftly communicated between the architectural team, the interior designer, and the club’s committee to create a design that was not only beautiful and functional but would also stand the test of time.
“It’s important to take into account member satisfaction,” Ziegler says. “The Minnesota Valley Country Club has been around for one hundred years and will be here for another century. Generations of members will be sitting in the chairs, which makes it all the more important to get the right product.”
Bar Stools that Make a Statement
The fourteen stools sitting at the main bar are a centerpiece of the furniture package sourced by Boelter. One of the challenges Ziegler faced came in communicating the importance of raising the budget allocated for the bar stools and sourcing from a high-end furniture manufacturer. He worked with the manufacturer to create a few sample products and brought members of the committee to the showroom to experience the chairs firsthand. Being able to touch and feel the quality of the leather and craftsmanship of the furniture was an important step in building trust with the client and allowing them to feel confident in Ziegler’s choices for sourcing furniture.
While the stools were only a small part of the full furnishing set up, they epitomize the ambiance of luxury and comfort that was the goal of the project. They also serve as an example of the coordination between different teams, as the interior designer brought her talent to picking finishes and colors to create the perfect end product with Boelter’s team and the furniture manufacturer.
Customized Designs
In addition to the bar stools, other furniture for the pub included large dining tables and accompanying chairs, a community table with backless bar stools at the entrance, and a long banquette that fit around three walls. The banquette provided a unique opportunity for customized woodwork, and Boelter’s team worked with the manufacturer to build a special piece. It started with the furniture manufacturer coming on site for field measuring, then providing drawings for the design team and committee members to approve.
When it came time for installation, the general contractors had installed chair rail that wasn’t in the original drawings. Undeterred, the manufacturer took the banquette back to the shop, modified it and made it fit. The Boelter team chose this manufacturer in part because of their commitment to complete customer satisfaction. “Their commitment goes beyond constructing the furniture, to ensuring when they leave a job it is done right,” Ziegler says.
Boelter’s advantages show through in many ways on the Minnesota Valley Country Club project, from keeping communication lines open between all the different teams involved to managing the timeline efficiently with minimal glitches. But most important was the benefit that comes from working with a trusted partner in the foodservice industry with a vast network of sources and experience in various segments. There are a lot of similarities with any project in the foodservice sector, but in some situations there is a need to adjust who your vendors are and the type of product you’re sourcing to fit the particular client. Minnesota Valley Country Club was a prime example of how Boelter understands that and can adapt.
