Business South August 2020

60 | Volume 29 | Issue 4 businesssouth YOUR PROJECT SPECIALISTS +64 21 758 374 ADVERTISING IS GREAT FOR BUSINESS! Get new clients with regular print media Phone: 03 983 5500 Fax: 03 983 5552 waterfordpress.co.nz COMMUNITY » Richmond Club New club a major boost for community and Canterbury Designed by Walker Architecture the new Richmond club will have wide appeal. T he highly anticipated, high class redevelop- ment to the Richmond Club - which will be finished by the end of the year - is set to pro- vide Richmond with a unifying social hub, and the whole of Canterbury with a sophisticated entertain- ment venue to rival any venue in town. “Without the hefty venue price tag,” says Rich- mond Club manager Jimmy Summerfield. “It’s a pretty special building, modern, contempo- rary, and exciting for the area. “We are appealing to the Canterbury community; we want to be known all throughout Canterbury and capture that membership.” “The fantastic function venue will hold up to 350 people, with a major focus on weddings and corporate functions. The function venue includes great acoustic pan- elling, lots of glass and natural light, a removable stage, and dedicated changing facilities. The completed club will also feature three inter- national grade squash courts, which Jimmy says will be the best squash courts in Christchurch. These will be completed in January, as they have been held up slightly coming in from Germany. A new restaurant and café, and a new members’ lounge that holds up to 400 people will feature Richmond Club’s very strong food and beverage offering. “We will be offering the best food available, using the freshest produce in town, at really affordable prices, and focusing on taste and flavour,” he says. “All made here with great chefs, and a focus on dietary requirements including celiac and vegetar- ian.” Jimmy says part of the new facility will be used to pay respect to the club’s history, which dates back to 1888, with photos, memorabilia, and infor- mation about the club’s inception and history. “There is a lot of history here. Many have been members for 20 years, and some have been mem- bers longer than I’ve been alive. “You can’t just come in and change that, you’ve got to respect it, add value to it, and make the club a venue for everyone.” He says while members and staff appreciate what was on site before the earthquakes, “a grand old girl,” it’s now 2020 and time to give them all something really polished, a building they can be a part of, they can facilitate and appreciate. The whole club will potentially hold up to 1200 people, and Jimmy says it needs to capture another 3000 to 4000 members. “We should surpass that, there is going to be a lot of interest. We currently get about 150 new members each month, and we anticipate that to triple or quadruple.” Jimmy says many New Zealand clubs are strug- gling and Richmond Club’s rebuild was an opportu- nity to go against the grain of what those struggling clubs have been doing. “We’ve learnt from what we believe they’ve done wrong and we’ve concentrated on what we need to do to make this operational and cost-effective. “We need to attract these members and work out how to attract them, and the training of our staff has to back up what we’re trying to sell. “We’ve got great people in our senior manage- ment team and wonderful staff that will manage our training and ensure we have a high-class service to match our high-class establishment.” Kelly Deeks