✨Dining

Our facility provides one meal a day as part of our contracts. We have a campus environment with 3 "high rise" buildings and numerous "cottage/villa" units. One high rise has a "restaurant" available to all residents on campus from 8:00am to 6:30pm daily, serving a variety of options plus the day's breakfast, lunch, dinner choices. It also has a "Bistro" or casual deli serving non-alcoholic beverages, some sandwiches, snack, etc M-F during work hours - it does not seem well utilized. The other two high rise buildings provide a dine-in or take-out option for dinner M-Sat, with a noon meal on Sunday. Any resident may use any dining room. If an individual has guests, eats two meals in a day or charges items at the "Bistro" they may pay cash or are billed on their monthly statement.

Management is currently looking at opening another option with longer hours, indoor and outdoor seating, serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, sandwiches, snacks in one of the other high rise buildings. [They've called it a "Pub" option, but the "drawings" and discussions seem more like a country club bar/grill. A number of residents question the need.

I'm curious to know:

Do other facilities have this type of dining option?

If so, what are some pluses or minuses?

How well is it used?

We are a relatively small CCRC, 259 IL units and 350 residents. We have a formal dining room, a café and a bar. The main kitchen serves our Care Center as well (SNF, AL, Memory).

All residents are entitled to one meal per day as part of their monthly fee; other meals can be purchased a la carte.

The Café serves three meals a day: B 7:30-10, L 11-1 and D 5-7. Lunch and Dinner are available for pick up and delivery. Delivery is free in our outlying duplexes and costs $7.00 in the main building unless you are confined due to illness. Lunch order by 9AM for pickup after 11. Dinner by 2, pickup after 5.

The main dining room is only open for dinner (we tried lunch, but few attended – dress code identified as deterrent). Hours are 5-7. Reservations are required for the main dining area, walk-ins okay for café. Order by 2 for pickup after 5. There is also a small bar that serves small plates 5-7.

The takeout menu is a subset of the full menu. The café has one special everyday with many other lighter fare (salads, sandwiches, omelets) made to order. Dinner menu has 3 specials very night with an “always available” section in addition (omelets, filet, steelhead, etc.)

There is a Sunday Brunch as the only meal of the day available in person of as takeout.

Thanks Kay, your post caused me to look up what is a pub? Looks like it is a place to "chill."

• Community Focus:
• Pubs often serve as gathering places for locals, with a warm, welcoming atmosphere. 
• Food Options:
• They typically offer a wider range of food, from hearty meals to pub snacks. 
• Relaxed Vibe:
• Pubs tend to have a more laid-back atmosphere, perfect for unwinding and socializing. 
• "Pubness":
• Pubs often have a strong sense of tradition and local identity. 

Bars are listed as more lively and focused on alcohol.

That's an interesting concept. Are the residents receptive to it?

Maura Conry

NaCCRA Board of Directors

Forum Monitor

At the CCRC I live in, we have a formal dining room, a bistro and a casual dining room with a bar.

The casual dining room is recent, post-covid. It has a set menu with many options but the menu changes twice a year or maybe more, but basically stays the same. It's open Wednesday - Saturday night only.

What's interesting is that many members objected to the creation of this restaurant and then, once it was built, changed their view. It has become a most popular place because it is modern, warm and inviting. And yes, it has a bar but what people like is having a third choice that is so airy and inviting with, unlike the Bistro, table service in addition to dining at the bar. It is the one restaurant where one must make a reservation.

It's possible that another reason for its creation is to attract younger prospects. Not sure it's working that way as the entire CCRC concept tends to attract those who in their late 70's and well-beyond, but it certainly doesn't hurt. It really is a terrific, welcome and exciting addition to our community. And the food is terrific...as it is everywhere here.