The Tower Club, which comprises the 21st and 22nd floors of Hammons Tower, began in 1987 as a private dining club. (Founder John Q.) Hammons (had) been around the country and saw this type of club, and he took bits and pieces from each of those clubs to design The Tower Club for businesspeople to come here and use it for meetings and private functions as a members-only club. We still do (members-only) evening dining and lunch dining and private meetings, but we've really gone out and hit the banquet meetings also. I'd say 60 percent of our business right now is banquet business each month. We're open Tuesdays through Fridays for lunch and Tuesdays through Saturdays for dinner, except for Wednesday nights. We have 52 employees, and 26 of them, mostly wait staff, are considered part time.
What's your membership structure?
Membership gets you in the door for lunches and dinners (and members also pay for their food), but if you're holding a reception or something, membership is not required. Membership requires a one-time fee of $850, and then, it's $65 a month, which can be spent on food in a month, or they can (choose) a $30-a-month food minimum and $35 monthly dues. (Members have) reciprocity with more than 100 clubs around the country. We have about 1,400 members.
What does the holiday season mean for The Tower Club?
If I could just take the month of December and spread it out over the year, that would be nice. Everyone wants to come in during those 23 days before Christmas, and it's kind of a crazy time - company Christmas parties and everything from five people to 300, on a daily and nightly basis. We do a holiday lunch buffet every day during the holiday season. We have a pianist that plays every day during lunch, and we decorate the club. We've got a little more than 120 holiday bookings already, including all the side rooms and everything. Full capacity is about 175, and we'll get close to that. Our pastry chef (prepares) cakes and pies (for members), we have gift certificates (that can be used by nonmembers), and memberships can be bought (for gifts). We have a one-year trial membership that's $200, and if (the recipient) decides at the end of the year that they like the club, it can be applied to the full membership. We usually (sell) 25 to 30 memberships (during) the holidays.
Is the club feeling the economic pinch?
If we relied on membership-only regular dining, we would not be able to (make) it. Everyone - I don't care how much money you may have in the bank - is feeling the pinch from the economy. But there are still people getting married, still having business events, and they have to have (events) somewhere, so as long as we stay price-competitive, we're doing OK. In fact, this is one of our better years, revenue wise. For the first time ... we (expect) to break the million-dollar mark in food sales, and with everything, we'll probably come close to $1.4 million (in revenues). We're definitely on track to do that. We've had to be more flexible in the events that we hold.
What improvements occurred at the club this summer?
The first nine days of July, the club was completely closed. The club, after 20 years, was in desperate need of change. We changed the carpeting and the wallpaper throughout the club, and added new kitchen equipment. We got new china, a new sound system ... and put the final touches on the Top of the Tower dining room (which replaced the 22nd-floor lounge a couple years ago). We did more than $400,000 in renovations.
What do you like most about your job?
I get to meet a lot of people and cater to a lot of people. A lot of decisions for the city get made in here, and I find importance in that. And Mr. Hammons has been an integral part of it. He has taken care of me throughout the years here, so there's an allegiance to him, too.
Tell us about your family.
I married my wife, Andy, three weeks after I started here. She's a nurse educator at CMH Hospital in Bolivar. We've got two boys: Hunter, 15, and Kyler, 12.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
