Making the adjustment

An inside look at the Farmington Country Club’s 21st Century kitchen renovation

There’s lots of history there. Dating back to some 100 years, the Farmington Country Club offers a unique blend of classic country club ambiance with all the luxurious amenities of a modern club.

But to truly step into the genre of what today’s country clubs and social clubs are offering, Farmington needed that special extra touch, including using its kitchen as a member perk, and a crucial element of attracting and retaining better staff. That’s where national firm Cooper Robertson entered the picture. Led by John Kirk, AIA, Partner, and Sam Blodgett, Associate, Farmington’s back-of-house transformation became a focal point of its post-pandemic plans. The architect of record for award-winning kitchen and support layouts for varied clubs around the world, Cooper Robertson wanted to foster an upgrade that helped improve both the member and staff experience.

Photo courtesy ©Francis Dzikowski/OTTO

To get a feel for the Farmington transformation, we sat down with Kirk and Sam Blodgett, who provided an inside peek of what they did.

Give us a snapshot of the project?

Kirk: The Farmington Country Club is an esteemed and historic venue in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has been operating as a club for nearly a century, but some of the buildings date back hundreds of years—and a portion of the original house was actually designed by Thomas Jefferson himself. For our part, Cooper Robertson has been engaged with Farmington for several years, leading the development of a master plan, Farmington 2027, which will guide short-term and long-term improvements to the campus, to better serve its evolving membership base with expanded and forward-looking facilities. Reimagining and expanding the club’s commercial kitchen had long been a goal of Farmington leadership, so it was a crucial element of our capital improvement plans. In fact, country clubs and social clubs nationwide are discovering their kitchens as a member perk and an essential element of attracting and retaining new members as well as more experienced staff. In terms of strategic upgrades that really improve both the member and staff experience, new kitchen facility designs and renovations are among the most impactful steps any member-based hospitality organization can take.

John Kirk Sam Blodgett What type of member is the club targeting?

Blodgett: While private-membership clubs remain a staple of many affluent communities, Farmington is pivoting from this more traditional customer base. Club leaders intend to make Farmington more appealing to a broader range of individuals, including millennials and young families in particular. Farmington also is making a concerted effort to provide more inclusive services for women, services that have historically been lacking in the country club setting. From renovating women’s locker rooms and lounges to creating children and teen centers so families can enjoy the experience together, Farmington’s goal has been to break from a historically limited customer base. Together with this focus on expanding the club’s appeal to a broader range of potential members, Farmington leaders also recognize that people are now more interested than ever in experiences—for example, club members today really seek out activities and classes for themselves and their families, so the kitchen renovations also had to facilitate this kind of use.

What type of adjustments have you made surrounding the recent state of events?

Kirk: For the post-Covid reopening and recovery period, Cooper Robertson’s adjustments focused largely on expanding Farmington’s ability to provide outdoor settings for safe socialization. The expansion of outdoor program spaces is critical, as everything from informal gathering areas and new outdoor dining to dedicated performance and event venues have been essential to clubs’ recovery efforts. In line with this recognition, our work at Farmington incorporated the addition of two new outdoor dining patios, as well as an outdoor pavilion.

How does the design cater to what today’s guests want?

Blodgett: Today’s guests want private clubs to offer a diverse array of experiences, from traditional activities like golf and passive recreation, to opportunities for families and active learning and engagement. In terms of food services, they also want a seamless and elevated experience. Our design for the new and expanded kitchen spaces at Farmington Country Club addresses all these needs. The new arrangement for the kitchen space is targeted at facilitating the most efficient and streamlined service, with both customers and back-of-house staff in mind. Not only does a functional and beautiful back-of-house area help drive operational efficiency, but it also supports more diverse and appealing culinary offerings and programs, and higher staff satisfaction levels. By facilitating greater flexibility in service, the new back-of-house design directly expedites more diversity in the potential services, a primary aspect of what guests look for in today’s market.

Reimagining and expanding the club’s commercial kitchen had long been a goal of Farmington leadership, so it was a crucial element of our capital improvement plans.

Walk us through how and why the kitchen and related facilities are designed the way they are?

Kirk: Our team created an entirely new layout for the back-of-house food service areas, including a dedicated food allergy-friendly kitchen and two separate full kitchens with shared support spaces, allowing the club to host multiple events simultaneously for the first time in its long history—or a single large event while maintaining standard service for members. Other important elements include walk-in freezers that save time and ease the strain of taking in deliveries, along with a new separate employee entrance and new direct grease piping, allowing the staff to avoid the unpleasant chore of manually removing waste after each meal time. The main drivers behind this redesign were to prioritize smoother internal kitchen operations, as well as to pay special attention to employee resources.

Take us through your construction and design strategy.

Blodgett: Our design and construction strategy for this project had function and efficiency at top of mind. Cooper Robertson’s goal was to create a kitchen that will not hinder the efforts of the staff, and will in fact actively support them in sustaining Farmington’s long history of top-tier service.

For example, the brand new food allergy-friendly kitchen is a testament to Farmington’s commitment to accommodate every need of a diverse customer base. Thoughtfully implemented details in the design and construction helped this renovation have the biggest impact on both customer and employee experiences. The first goal in the Farmington master plan was to reinvent many of the outdated areas of the building to create a more relaxed and informal atmosphere that would appeal to younger members. A second objective was to help facilitate the club’s growth and expansion, and cultivate its unique appeal to the members of tomorrow. Aiding staff recruitment and retention was another important design goal, so we paid special attention to employee resources. The addition of specialized spaces and equipment is a hiring draw, for example, offering new opportunities for culinary talent like famous Netflix pastry chef Melissa Root, who recently joined the Farmington staff. Upgrades also included new locker rooms and a spacious, attractive employee cafeteria. Combined with heightened operational efficiency that reduces stress, these thoughtful designs are helping the club get ahead of staffing challenges that have been a major stumbling block for the hospitality industry as it emerges from the pandemic period.

What’s the biggest issue today related to the construction side of the business?

Kirk: Navigating supply chain delays is a major challenge in today’s construction industry. Across many construction projects, there is an increasing necessity to be able to pivot planning and design in response to changing availability. Fortunately, Cooper Robertson was able to overcome this challenge in the project work for Farmington, through flexible planning and creative problem-solving. Country Clubs are not unlike hospitals in that they need to stay operational while renovating and expanding, or risk losing their patronage, which presents another challenge for a major kitchen overhaul. Our strategy was two phases, a major new kitchen and back-of-house area as phase one, keeping the existing kitchen in service, and then a gut renovation of the existing kitchen facilities.

Talk about sustainability.

Blodgett: In all of our firm’s work, Cooper Robertson places a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and the incorporation of sustainable materials into the design and construction processes. We also believe in renovating and reimagining existing spaces to make them modern and sustainable. The project at Farmington offered numerous opportunities for renovation and reuse strategies, and Cooper Robertson was able to redesign and update many spaces including renovations and upgrades to its fitness and locker facilities. By giving new life to Farmington Country Club’s centuries-old spaces, we’re taking a very sustainable approach to serve the club’s long-term goals. Are you optimistic about how the marketplace has responded to everything happening today?

Kirk: Although recent years have been volatile for the hospitality industry, we’re seeing a resurgence of interest in the social and leisure opportunities that clubs provide. At Farmington, for example, day-to-day service and especially events are once again a core component of the club’s offerings as pandemic restrictions ease and pent-up demand are released. Bigger-picture, we’re also seeing positive momentum in terms of reimagining and reinvigorating historic country clubs nationwide. There is a growing movement across the country toward making private clubs more diverse and modern, in order to bring them in line with the current and evolving desires of new members.

Farmington’s leadership, including CEO Joe Krenn, has really been the driving force behind the club’s renaissance, and their focus on the three R’s of recruitment, retention, and relevance is a highly effective framework for breaking down the challenge of boosting membership into strategic components and concrete actions. We feel there are many reasons for optimism.

What trends are you seeing?

Kirk: Private clubs are beginning to shift toward more diverse and modern attitudes, putting new emphasis on serving young families, offering flexible amenities and paying new attention to employee resources. The opening up of the industry to appeal to fresh demographics is a positive shift overall, and will bring new opportunities for both potential members and for the hospitality providers. In terms of the food service components, there’s really a push for clubs to offer a very high level of culinary experience that members couldn’t find anywhere else—from the range and quality of the food offerings themselves, to the extraordinary reputations of staff chefs and bakers, to opportunities for members to get hands-on with classes and tastings. Kitchens are an essential component of the experiential nature that defines the contemporary club environment. For example, we added new specialty spaces and equipment—such as a pastry shop and an indoor cooker—which means that Farmington has been able to create a richer experience for members with popular offerings such as a chef’s table along with group and individual cooking classes.

What’s the secret to creating a “must visit” environment today?

Blodgett: Today’s “must-visit” hospitality environment is a place that offers a wide range of top-level, curated experiences for guests. This is especially true in the private club context, where members need to feel that they’re finding real value in the overall experience. To achieve success in the hospitality comeback, club leaders need to understand those “Three R’s” mentioned above, and apply this framework to staffing as well as membership—because reinventing the backof-house environment is one of the most effective ways to ensure a venue holds unique appeal and delivers top-notch service across the board in such a competitive market.

What is today’s consumer looking for?

Kirk: In the private club world, today’s consumer wants a place for the whole family to exercise, relax, meet with friends, and engage in exciting and unique activities that they wouldn’t have access to in other contexts. This is why upgrading kitchen facilities is important: Not only does a functional and beautiful back-of-house area help drive operational efficiency, but it also supports more diverse and appealing culinary offerings and programs. In Cooper Robertson’s experience working with Farmington Country Club, another major consideration in meeting consumer desires was modernizing the facilities while still maintaining their historic appeal— after all, the club’s campus is a landmark in many senses of the word, which is a unique point of differentiation. We were able to seamlessly integrate the new kitchen facilities into the club’s historic fabric; if you didn’t know these areas had just been redone and expanded, you would think they were a part of the original club structure, which is an achievement that makes us proud. Another important aspect of meeting consumer needs was incorporating new kinds of uses and activities within the club’s facilities. For example, we added a new children’s center—so parents can work in a game of tennis or yoga class—and a shorter, nine-hole golf course makes it easier for kids to play and for members to fit a quick game into their busy schedules. In addition to the classic expectations for a club, flexible and diverse amenities and services are fundamental to maintaining a happy membership in the current landscape.

Tell us what makes your firm so unique?

Kirk: Cooper Robertson is an integrated full-service architecture and urban design firm, with a practice that covers a range of sectors from clubs and resorts, to museum and cultural facilities, to public realm design, education, medical and research facilities and campus planning. We can bring this diverse expertise to bear in all of our projects, which means in practice that for a client like Farmington Country Club, we are able not only to create a strategic campus master plan, but we can design and oversee the build-out of each component of that plan—ensuring that the completed project functions beautifully on the overall campus level and on the individual building level. CK

CIRCLE NO. 45