Lawrence puts out RFP to upgrade country club snack bar

After nearly 25 minutes of spirited debate at a special Sept. 10 board meeting the Lawrence village trustees unanimously decided to put out a request for proposal for a different vendor at the outside snack bar at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club.

Deputy Mayor Jeff Landy, a golf-playing member of the country club, said that the availability of the snack bar and its lack of choices is an issue. “It’s kind of the first thing you see when you come into the course,” he said. “It should be the entry point of the class operation we run. Golfers show up at 4 p.m. and the concession is closed.”

Landy wants a broader a menu and kosher food. After speaking with more than two dozen non-Jewish members of the club, he said they don’t care whether its kosher, Halal or non-kosher as long as it is high-quality good food. His goal to attract more residents who might not think of the club as a place for them.

“This could be a gateway for the 90 percent of the residents who are not members at our club who could come for dinner, they could come for an afternoon lunch,” he said, noting that when the village performs improvements at the club there is “pushback” from residents.

“There will be a full array of concession snacks, drinks, fired, chicken sandwiches, etc. that will all be available,” Landy said, envisioning a renovated snack bar. “In order to accommodate dietary restrictions we are contemplating bringing in a coffee truck in the morning, which will have coffee, pastries, snacks, sandwiches etc., so the early morning golfers will have food which they haven’t had properly servicing them.

Both Landy and Trustee Paris Popack aimed to have existing caterers at the club be considered.

The request for proposal deadline is the next village board meeting on Oct. 14.

Before the hearing was held Lawrence village was presented with a special certificate signifying the connection between Israel and the United States, one day before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks,

Stephanie Feit, the Israel programs admission director on Long Island for the Jewish National Fund gave the trustees a framed photograph with inscribed words that pictures and describes the 9/11 living memorial in the foothills of Jerusalem built by JNF in 2009. Feit said it is the only memorial outside of the U. S. that honors each victim.

The memorial is an American flag waving and transforming into a flame, and the monument’s base is formed by a piece of molted metal from the ruins of the Twin Towers. The memorial is also the site of an annual 9/11 ceremony that includes Israel’s prime minister, president, the mayor Jerusalem and the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

“This memorial represents the shared values of our two countries, the preciousness of life, freedom, democracy and the fight against tyranny and terrorism,” Feit said, adding that the JNF supports first responders in Israel with fire and rescue stations, fire trucks and necessary equipment.