Jan NorrisThe Farmer’s Table is out and Lessing’s Hospitality, affiliated with the Joe Namath restaurants in Jupiter, is top-ranked finalist at North Palm Beach Country Club.
Seems the golfers at North Palm Beach Country Club aren’t the quinoa and hummus crowd. They like their greens on the green — not on their plates.
The healthy, farm-to-table fare offered by The Farmer’s Table, the country club’s signature restaurant, wasn’t enough to satisfy the “hungry golfers coming off the hot course,” said Ed Cunningham, the village’s communication director.
They were looking, he said, for more traditional American foods.
Instead of Buffalo wings, the clubhouse menu lists Buffalo cauliflower “drumettes.” No pizza — offered instead is a prosciutto di Parma flatbread with blistered grape tomatoes.
Spaghetti and meatballs? The healthy alternative is vegan quinoa meatballs over spaghetti squash.
And grass-fed beef is a tough sell to those used to a well-marbled tomahawk.
So this week, the North Palm Beach Village Council will decide on a new food and beverage vendor to serve the club and all the adjunct food areas such as the grill room, pool bar and snack carts around the golf course.
Several companies expressed interest in taking over when proposals were accepted in July. A first round of tastings from the hopefuls led to two finalists: the MLM Food Group and Lessing’s Hospitality Group.
A six-member panel of former council members and village staff conducted a taste-testing July 22 and ranked Lessing’s over MLM. Village staff recommend the council select Lessing’s when they consider the proposals on Aug. 8.
Lessing’s is partner with football great Joe Namath
The clubhouse, on U.S. 1 south of PGA Boulevard, overlooks the village’s recently redesigned Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.
Both finalists have upscale-casual restaurants in the area.
Lessing’s, a multi-generational family-owned group, operates several restaurants in Jupiter and New York, including a partnership with Joe Namath in the Love Street restaurants across from the Jupiter Lighthouse — Lucky Shuck, Beacon and Topsider.
It handles catering at the Pelican Club in Jupiter, the Kravis Center, and the Crane Club in Port St. Lucie.
The company’s experience includes running the food and beverage operations for several golf clubs in the Long Island area.
In sample menus, foods such as oysters on the half-shell, crab cakes, lobster rolls, Nashville hot crispy chicken, burgers, strip steaks and filet mignon were featured.
No hummus — but a spinach and artichoke dip is there.
MLM runs the popular Hudson’s on the River and Stuart Boathouse in Stuart, Townie’s Tavern in Palm City and several Hurricane Wings throughout the East Coast; one is in Palm Beach Gardens. Catering and consulting are major parts of their company.
Seafood plays a role in their tavern-style menus, along with an entire section of steaks. A 32-ounce tomahawk, prime rib, rib-eyes and Kansas City strip steaks are featured. Scallops, airline chicken, steak and mushroom flatbreads and specialty burgers also are on their lists.
No junk food at Farmer’s Table
The Farmer’s Table opened in North Palm Beach when the $19 million clubhouse debuted in late 2020. The company’s decision not to renew its contract was a financial one, Cunningham said.
Besides opening just before the pandemic, “I don’t know if (it) took off in northern Palm Beach County,” City Manager Chuck Huff told The Palm Beach Post. “It’s a farm-to-table at a golf course, and golf course people like hot dogs and hamburgers.”
The restaurant designers built out the kitchens and the dining rooms for the club members but it was open to the public as well for brunch, lunch and dinner.
The restaurant is a sibling of the original in Boca Raton’s Westin Hotel. It features “clean” food, meaning very little processed food, nothing fried in oil, minimal salt and an emphasis on organic and natural foods.
Farmer’s Table co-owner Joseph Iannuzzi said at the opening, “There are no deep fryers or microwaves in the kitchen and very few processed foods are used. They’re not part of our food philosophy.”
No junk food meant no hot dogs, only natural baked chips and crackers, fruit juices and organic beverages.
Their clean and farm-fresh foods, with gluten-free, vegan- and vegetarian-friendly items, were supplemented by more traditional American fare when the NPB Public House teamed with them in November 2023 for a grill room menu. Steaks, burgers and fried French fries were added.
It didn’t really catch on, Cunningham said, though “They were pretty well-liked.”
“Their lease would have expired at the end of the year but we decided to let them out of it early and get a new restaurant in before the holiday rush,” he said.
The village is hoping to have the restaurant in place by October. It is requiring the new operator to keep existing staff, as staffing permits.
First-year sales are projected at $6.5 million, with a total capital commitment of $1.2 million. Lessing’s would give the village $200,000 to cover the costs of previous investments in the clubhouse.
Lessing’s would pay $200,000 per year, with annual 3% increases plus a share of sales.
The Farmer’s Table will remain open until the new operators are in place.
