concessions - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T13:34:34Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/concessionsGulf Stream: 11th-hour talks bring peace between Gunther Volvo and neighborshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-11th-hour-talks-bring-peace-between-gunther-volvo-and2017-05-31T16:30:00.000Z2017-05-31T16:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /> A proposed three-story garage that Place Au Soleil feared would bring unwelcome noise and light will instead be a concrete reminder of good-neighborliness.<br /> Eleventh-hour negotiations between Gulf Stream and Gunther Volvo resulted in a series of concessions just before Delray Beach’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board gave the project its final OK.<br /> Four members of the public commented at the May 10 SPRAB meeting — Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan, Place Au Soleil Homeowners Association President Chet Snavely, resident Julio Martinez and Ann Bennett, a Place Au Soleil resident and vice president of the town’s Civic Association. All were in favor.<br /> “I figure that we are going to be looking at this garage for the next 50 to 100 years, so it was important to us that we get a project that was digestible. I think, I hope that we’ve gotten to that point,” Snavely said.<br /> How the car dealership will control lights on the garage’s upper level, where its employees will park, led to the breakthrough of using motion sensors. Gunther lawyer Matthew Scott said it was too soon to say whether such devices would do the job.<br /> “We just had an aha moment about motion sensors today,” he told the review board.<br /> If the sensors will not work or if Delray Beach police do not approve the idea, Gunther will turn off half of the top-level lights at 9 p.m. and the remainder at 10. Delray Beach code would have allowed the lights to stay on until 11.<br /> Morgan, who called Gunther’s efforts “very reasonable,” sent a letter to town residents detailing changes the dealership would make. Among them:<br /> • Adding black honeycomb grilles to openings in the walls to cut noise and light, and recessing interior lights in the ceilings.<br /> • Moving the site for offloading vehicles from the east side of the property, next to Place Au Soleil, to the south side and restricting offloading to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. (“There will be no weekend delivery and it will not be at night,” Scott told the board.)<br /> • Adding a dense tree line to the 20 existing oaks on the east property line.<br /> • Making the perimeter berm higher and adding a wall on top, effectively making a 10-foot sound barrier.<br /> • Buying new car washing equipment designed to minimize noise and putting it inside the garage to make it even quieter.<br /> • Relocating the trash bin from the east side to the south side. <br /> • Not installing a public-address system outdoors.<br /> Review board member Linda Purdo-Enochs complimented both sides “for working together and finding a happy medium.”<br /> Gunther will also plant three more sabal palms at the southeast corner of the garage to screen it from the Delray Preserve apartment complex.<br /> The dealership’s current showroom is showing signs of age, Scott said. “It’s not exciting. It’s not fresh,” he said.<br /> Volvo is rebranding itself to get away from a historical emphasis on safety and become cool, Scott said. Gunther’s dated furniture inside will be replaced with a modern, warm, Scandinavian design.<br /> Under Delray Beach’s comprehensive plan, auto dealerships are “specifically directed” to the east side of Federal Highway north of Delray Preserve, city senior planner Amy Alvarez said. The garage, which will be 65 feet away from Place Au Soleil at its closest, could have been 10 feet away and met code, Scott said.<br /> Fort Lauderdale-based Gunther paid AutoNation $13.5 million in 2012 for the Volvo and neighboring Volkswagen dealerships. <br /> Snavely said letters he and the HOA overnighted to Joseph “Jay” Gunther Jr. and Joseph Gunther III were game changers. The older Gunther emailed back that he wanted “to work with you folks. You are our neighbors,” Snavely said.<br /> Relations between the car lot and Gulf Stream were less cordial in the months leading to the garage-showroom’s OK. <br /> As recently as mid-April, Snavely said the dealership was intransigent. “Volvo was not interested in spending any money for any redesign,” he said.</p></div>Manalapan: Town OKs plan for Publix at Plaza del Marhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-oks-plan-for-publix-at-plaza-del-mar2016-08-03T20:43:56.000Z2016-08-03T20:43:56.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Grocer to create ‘unique to market’</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span class="font-size-6" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">store in Manalapan</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960668888,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960668888,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960668888?profile=original" /></a><em>The new Publix will anchor a major renovation of Plaza del Mar.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering provided by Cuhaci & Peterson</strong><br /><br /></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> After a year of impassioned negotiation and ample planning, the arranged marriage between Publix and Manalapan appears headed for the altar.<br /> A short list of design changes from representatives for the supermarket giant persuaded town commissioners to unanimously approve plans for a 26,000-square-foot store in the middle of the Plaza del Mar shopping center.<br /> Publix and Manalapan. Manalapan and Publix. Together at last.<br /> Matt Buehler, retail vice president with Kitson & Partners, the plaza’s landlords, told commissioners the company was building its store specifically with Manalapan in mind. He said extensive renovation of the site would revive a shopping plaza that has languished for years.<br /> And the centerpiece would be the stylish new Publix.<br /> “The grocer is creating a unique store to this market that does not exist in its portfolio today,” Buehler said. “It’s not a stock set of plans that came off the shelf. This is a uniquely designed store that will not exist anywhere else in the country.”<br /> Kitson’s proposed overhaul includes planting 37 royal palm trees, adding two pocket parks and a drip irrigation system, installing LED parking lights, and repaving the entire plaza. Kitson had offered to create an outdoor seating area for roughly 100 people, but dropped the idea when several commissioners objected, fearing a potential nuisance.<br /> The plans go to the town’s architectural committee next. Demolition could begin in October, with construction underway by the first of the year. The Publix is expected to open for business in 2018.<br /> Two skeptics on the commission, Basil Diamond and Simone Bonutti, voted to support Kitson after coaxing concessions from the landlord during three hours of debate at the July 19 town meeting.<br /> Diamond and Bonutti had worried that the store would create traffic bottlenecks on the corner of Ocean Avenue and A1A, disturb neighbors with noise and pollution, and pose safety problems with large delivery trucks driving through the parking lot.<br /> “My concern is the site plan itself,” Diamond said. “Does it make a negative impact on the plaza and the community?”<br /> Buehler said Kitson was willing to build a continuous 8-foot concrete wall along the western and southern boundaries of the property to screen neighbors from delivery vehicles.<br /> Engineers for the developers told the commission that the renovation actually will decrease the total amount of retail space at the plaza by about 20,000 square feet. The plan would also increase the setback area on the south side by about 35 feet, adding to the buffer zone with homeowners. Engineers said the project complies with all town codes and building rules.<br /> Kitson withdrew plans to add a separate liquor package store near the Publix after complaints from several commissioners at the June meeting. Buehler said the two-story tower in the heart of the plaza will be removed, opening the skyline view for neighboring residents.<br /> Robert Rennebaum, a traffic engineer with the West Palm Beach firm of Simmons & White, told commissioners the completed project would “meet all applicable standards.” <br /> Rennebaum said the new Publix figures to generate 615 fewer trips per day — about a 15 percent reduction — than the current limits on the property. “It’s not even close to capacity,” he said.<br /> Mayor David Cheifetz and Diamond pointed out, however, that current traffic to the plaza falls well below the limits because of underperforming businesses. So, while adding a Publix may not exceed theoretical traffic standards, in the real world, it is virtually certain to draw more cars to the site than go there today.<br /> Buehler assured commissioners that Kitson has the expertise to manage vehicle and foot traffic to the new store: “We do have shopping centers throughout the state of Florida. We’re shopping center experts.”<br /> He said typically, no more than two or three large delivery trucks would be going to the supermarket each day. “There’s not going to be a superhighway going through the center of that shopping center,” he said. “They’ll go to the back of the store, be hidden, then get the heck out of Dodge and nobody will be the wiser.”<br /> The path of the expanded north-south delivery access road will force out a half-dozen businesses, among them Jewelry Artisans, Manalapan Italian Cuisine and Jeannie’s Ocean Boutique. Kitson has given the merchants until Sept. 30 to relocate.<br /> Cheifetz, who as mayor has no vote, said he would have voted to approve the project if allowed. He commended commissioners for “a job well done” in protecting the interests of the town and working to improve plans for Manalapan’s largest commercial project in decades.</p></div>Delray Beach: After much to-do: New beach furniture seems to please everyonehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-after-much-to-do-2014-02-26T21:51:22.000Z2014-02-26T21:51:22.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960491860,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960491860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960491860?profile=original" /></a></em><em>Wendy and Ken Prunier, Samantha Kline and Delaney Cattano try out the new furniture on Delray’s municipal beach. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /><br /> A year of controversy has ended with beachgoers raving about the comfort of new oak chaise lounges with 3-inch-thick cushions. <br /> “We’re the first cushion testers. These are the most amazing chairs we’ve ever sat in,” college student Samantha Kline said as Oceanside Beach Services unveiled its new furniture on Delray Beach’s municipal beach on Feb. 22.<br /> “The seat cushion is perfection,” beach regular Francine Mitzman agreed. “This is absolutely phenomenal.”<br /> The jubilation signals a happy ending to the hard-fought question of whether the city could get a better deal on a beach services contract with a vendor other than Oceanside, which has been providing cabanas, umbrellas and chairs at the city beach since 2002.<br /> A previous city manager had extended Oceanside’s contract without competitive bids in 2012. Mayor Cary Glickstein and Commissioner Shelly Petrolia made competitive bidding a campaign issue when they won the March 2013 city election.<br /> Glickstein, Petrolia and Commissioner Al Jacquet voted to seek bids for the beach contract last May. Only Oceanside submitted a bid, offering $300,000 a year for five years, compared to $170,000 that it paid before.<br /> Commissioners voted 3-2 in October to accept Oceanside’s bid, with Glickstein and Petrolia objecting. <br /> Petrolia was still fighting Oceanside at a Feb. 4 meeting, when the new beach furniture hadn’t arrived as promised. But it arrived Feb. 22 and everyone, including Petrolia, appeared happy.<br /> “I showed people I’m going to do what I say I’m going to do,” she said. “Hopefully it’s been worth the wait. It certainly was an initiative that brought value to the city.”<br /> “Shelly is right,” Oceanside owner Mike Novatka agreed. “The city got more money and nice new furniture for the beach.”<br /> The first 100 groupings of two oak chaises, table and umbrella are now in place. Another 150 groupings will arrive March 21.<br /> They rent for $40 a day or $500 annually, up from $30 a day or $400 annually for bulky old cabana setups that will be phased out in March.<br /> The comfortable cushions come as the mayor says the political controversy over the beach contract must end.<br /> “Everyone wants to move on,” Glickstein said at the Feb. 4 meeting. “I believe we need to get past this.”<br /> “Sometimes business gets mixed up with politics,” Novatka agreed. “I’m happy that I’m still here.”<br /> At the beach, the happiness is all about the new 3-inch cushions.<br /> “You want to be comfortable,” explained Mitzman, who sunbathes with her husband, David, for six hours every Saturday and Sunday. “You don’t want to get up at the end of your beach day and have to say your back hurts.”</p></div>Boca Raton: City puts beach chairs to bidhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-puts-beach-chairs-to-bid2014-02-26T17:00:00.000Z2014-02-26T17:00:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960491860,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960491860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960491860?profile=original" /></a></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Boca Raton will have umbrellas and chairs similar to Delray’s beach furniture.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span><b>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</b></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span><b>Related story:</b> After much to-do, new <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-after-much-to-do-new-beach-furniture-seems-to-please">beach furniture</a> seems to please everyone</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p><span><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p> Rows of blue beach chairs with billowing umbrellas are coming to Boca Raton’s beaches but not for at least six months.</p>
<p> The City Council decided Feb. 10 to request proposals from vendors tailored to Boca Raton’s needs, which include offering drinks and food for sale and possibly renting paddleboards.</p>
<p> “As much as I don’t want another six months to pass … I really think that we have to go out to bid on this,” Mayor Susan Whelchel said.</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960496090,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960496090,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="414" alt="7960496090?profile=original" /></a></span> The city could have piggybacked on a contract Pompano Beach has with North Palm Beach-based Oceanside Beach Service Inc. and have rentals out this month. But that contract is only for beach equipment, not edibles.</p>
<p> “I think we definitely need to have beverages and maybe snacks,” City Recreation Services Director Mickey Gomez said.</p>
<p> Gomez said South Beach, Red Reef and Spanish River parks could accommodate no more than one line of lounge chairs because the beaches are narrow. Double chairs, about 30 feet apart, would be positioned to not obstruct the view of lifeguards or interfere with sea turtle nesting, he said.</p>
<p> Council members removed the northern end of Red Reef Park from consideration because it’s the narrowest beach and also has the highest number of turtle nests.</p>
<p> Gomez estimated Boca Raton would take in $24,000 a year if it used Pompano Beach’s contract prices. By comparison, he said, Delray Beach receives $300,000 annually from chair rentals and Deerfield Beach gets $90,000 a year.</p>
<p> Rental rates in Pompano Beach are $10 an hour or $30 a day for a double lounge chair with umbrella or cabana, Gomez said. A beach chair is $5 an hour or $10 a day.</p>
<p> Beachgoers told Gomez they’d like to rent paddleboards. Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie said such rentals have proved popular on the Intracoastal Waterway.</p>
<p> Gomez also said only two or three vendors are equipped to provide beach equipment. </p>
<p> Oceanside Beach Service also has contracts with Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Deerfield Beach.</p>
<p> “We’ve come a long way since everybody was mad at our poor hot dog stand man,” Whelchel said after the council told Gomez to proceed.</p>
<p> Controversy over a hot dog stand at South Beach Park erupted in 2008, Whelchel’s first year as mayor. City officials’ test of a “mobile concessions cart” turned out to be short-lived.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span><b> </b></span></p></div>Food: FAU tries kicking food up a notch at new football stadiumhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/food-fau-tries-kicking-food-up-a-notch-at-new-football-stadium2011-09-28T15:11:04.000Z2011-09-28T15:11:04.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p> </p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960347267,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" width="239" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960347267,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960347267?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Florida Atlantic University and its food concession company say <br />they plan to offer typical stadium fare, plus a few surprises — like<br /> skewered chicken — when the new football stadium opens Oct. 15. <span><b>Photo provided</b></span></p>
<div><span><b><br /></b></span></div>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</b></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>When hungry spectators at the new Florida Atlantic University football stadium take a break from the Owls’ action, they’ll find typical stadium fare with a few surprises.</p>
<p>So says Greg Moran, the resident district manager for Chartwells, responsible for food service on the FAU campus including the stadium.</p>
<p>And Kellie Hensley, director of suites and concessions for the FAU Athletic Department, says: “We’ll be serving good food with a college theme that we take up a notch.”</p>
<p>But getting the food ready for fans attending the first game Oct. 15 hasn’t been easy. Moran has visited the stadium construction site at least twice a week for the past five months. He and his staff of 18 managers and 280 full-time associates also have been busy gathering, preparing and sampling recipes for stadium fare since May. </p>
<p>Because all the food will be prepared in a kitchen outside the stadium, Moran has special considerations when it comes to the menu.</p>
<p>“We have to be sure the food can be held for an extended period of time and that it tastes good whether it was cooked five or 30 minutes before it is served,” he says.</p>
<p>As game day approaches, his staff will grow by 150 to 200 employees who will work as bartenders, kitchen staff, servers and dishwashers at the stadium. There will be only about two weeks between the end of construction and the first game, during which Moran will have to expedite staff training. </p>
<p>Although the current list of stadium fare is heavy on traditional favorites, Moran hopes to add more Floribbean favorites.</p>
<p>“Local cuisine is one of the frontiers that haven’t been fully engulfed yet,” Moran says.</p>
<p>Most hungry game-goers will find themselves on the stadium’s third floor, where they can visit 11 concession stands. These include Chick-fil-A, which will offer a limited menu including its signature chicken sandwiches and brownies. </p>
<p>The Chick-n-Grill will serve burritos, grilled chicken sandwiches, french fries, funnel cakes, pretzels and nachos. PCI Professional Concessions will provide the usual sausage, hamburgers, nachos, pretzels and arepas. </p>
<p>Pita Hut will add the distinctive flavors of pita sandwiches and gyros as well as Dippin’ Dots and Haagen-Daz ice cream. And Tomasso’s, a local Boca Raton restaurant, will offer pizza slices, meatballs and meatball sandwiches.</p>
<p>Don’t want to leave your seat? Hawkers will deliver personal pizzas in boxes, lemon ices, hot dogs and Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.</p>
<p>On the second floor of the towering stadium you’ll find the Priority Deck. That’s a 16,000-square-foot outdoor covered dining space primarily serving the people in more than 4,000 outdoor club seats located on the west side of the lower level. </p>
<p>In the center of the priority dining area is a tiki bar stocked with draft beers, wines and mixed drinks. </p>
<p>Flat-screen televisions make it possible to follow the action on the field. And mobile food stations will offer items such as beef brisket sandwiches, pretzels, hot dogs and hamburgers as well as chicken and pita sandwiches.</p>
<p>For something a little different, there also will be a sushi and lo mein station. Sweet endings include Dippin’ Dots and ice cream novelties.</p>
<p>On the third floor, the 8,000-square-foot Premier Club Lounge will offer 1,500 outdoor club seat holders a place to relax and get some chow. The food is included in the price of their tickets.</p>
<p>Here, too, there will be television sets to watch while you eat, or you can take your food back to your seat. </p>
<p>Starting an hour before kickoff, the Premier Club Lounge will offer a carving stations serving an item such as strip loin of beef or grilled red chili turkey with jalapeño cilantro salsa and avocado cream. </p>
<p>Around halftime, the food service will shift to action stations that might include a sausage bar featuring apple-and-gouda-flavored links and spicy Italian as well as chipotle cheddar sausage. </p>
<p>Another game might offer a mac-and-cheese bar where you add your own toppings such as caramelized onions, chorizo, bacon bits or crushed potato chips. </p>
<p>Or, you might find mini Cuban sandwiches and mushroom quesadillas on the menu. A salad station might feature a cheese display plus a salad offering such as a Caesar or tossed garden salad.</p>
<p>At halftime there may also be snacks such as flavored popcorns, candy cotton, trail mix and pretzels. </p>
<p>“These are mini fillers that people can take back to their seats,” Moran says.</p>
<p>During the final quarter, desserts such as ice cream bars or a bananas foster station will be available for premier level fans. </p>
<p>In the suites on the floors above, ticket holders can choose from a variety of food packages that must be ordered at least three days in advance, either by phone or online.</p>
<p>Packages range from the high-end Touch Down Package to the more budget-friendly Hoot Package.</p>
<p>The Touch Down includes bruschetta, shrimp cocktail, Italian chopped salad, ciabatta sandwiches, beef strip loin and redskin potato salad with chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert. </p>
<p>The Hoot Package provides roasted garlic and French onion dips for potato chips, a hot dog bar with a selection of toppings, fried chicken tenders, pasta salad, BLT salad and cookies and seasonal fresh fruit for dessert.</p>
<p>For those whose pockets are as empty as their stomachs, ATMs will be available throughout the stadium and food outlets will accept all major credit cards. </p></div>