A clubhouse at 621 Westley Road now has a dining room built around a central fireplace and a covered terrace that faces west over the course. It also has two simulators that can be used for baseball as well as golf. None of that serves golfers on a July morning. It serves a Tuesday in February, a retirement party or a rainy Saturday with kids. The building replaces a clubhouse more than 100 years old, and the ribbon cutting is Friday, Oct. 23.
The clubhouse looks like a golf building. The finances behind it depend mostly on people who never pick up a club. Under its contract with the Village of Glencoe, the new restaurant shares its food, alcohol and event revenue with the Village. The Village's own referendum materials say greens fees alone can't cover the Golf Club's long-term costs.
A 48-Seat Room Was Never Going to Carry the Club
The Village made this case to voters in 2023. Its referendum page for the new clubhouse describes the old building as seating 48, with no private event space and a kitchen too small for larger groups. That building had to serve a course where more than 40,000 rounds were played a year over the three years before the referendum.
The same page puts the problem plainly. Greens fees "are not a sufficient source of revenue and can be impacted by outside forces such as weather," and only growth from sources like food and beverage can cover long-term operating costs. A golf course earns its money in the warm months. A restaurant with a fireplace can earn it in every month.
The Village also had survey data on demand. In its 2019 community-wide survey, 73% of respondents asked for more restaurant options and 48% wanted more event space. The referendum materials say the restaurant's core business will come from golfers. They also say the project is meant to open the facility to the whole community, and that the early feasibility work found Glencoe lacked private event space.
That reasoning set the building's size. The Village sized it for large golf outings, private non-golf events and a full bar and restaurant. It also argued that cutting dining space would barely lower construction costs but would cut into future revenue.
The Contract Gives the Village a Share of Every Sale
In August, Glencoe trustees unanimously approved Clubhouse Group as the clubhouse's food service vendor. The terms show that the Village earns money from the dining room and event space, not just from rent. The Record reported that the five-year contract, with options for two more five-year renewals, includes the following:
| Revenue stream | What goes to the Village |
|---|---|
| Annual base fee, starting in 2027 | $45,000 |
| Net food sales | 8% |
| Net alcohol sales | 10% |
| Net catering and private event sales | 12% |
| Private room rentals | 100% |
The highest rates in that table apply to events and private rooms, not to burgers at the turn. The referendum materials list the new revenue streams the Village expected. They include simulator leagues and lessons, croquet tournaments, short game memberships and non-golf community events such as movies, concerts and winter activities.
The Village tied that revenue to the bonds that pay for the building. Voters approved an $18 million project in 2023, and The Record has reported that about $15 million of it comes from taxpayers. The referendum page estimated the new facilities would bring in more than $100,000 a year in extra net revenue. It also explained that trustees can choose each year to use Golf Fund cash to reduce the property tax levy that repays the debt. That decision belongs to the Board of Trustees and depends on how much cash is left in the Golf Fund after the season closes. Restaurant revenue makes that kind of reduction possible, but nothing guarantees it.
Who Is Running the Kitchen
The operator is already familiar to North Shore diners. In March, The Record reported that the group behind Grill House and Cabo Grill in Northbrook and Backyard Grill in Highland Park would be recommended for the clubhouse. Its owner is Nick Drivas, a Glenbrook North High School graduate, who would lead the restaurant and bar, special events and golf operations. The company also goes by Housepitality Group. Golf Club general manager Stella Nanos said it has provided interim food service since March to keep food available during construction. That means the Golf Club saw the operator at work for several months before signing a contract.
Earlier this month, the restaurant got its name, The Westley, taken from the road the club sits on. The Record noted that the Village is promising "classic and fine American fare, local draft beers, fine wines and signature cocktails." Nanos described brunch, lunch and dinner menus, a wine and cocktail list, children's menus and an on-site special event manager for private parties and Village events.
The Westley's OpenTable page still says "Coming Soon." It posts daily lunch hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4 to 9 p.m., with reservations listed starting Saturday, Oct. 24. The menu posted there in early October covers burgers, Philly beef, wings and steaks, along with seafood, bowls, tacos and pasta. Hours and menus at a new restaurant often change in the first weeks, so check the listing before you go.
What's Inside, Room by Room
The Village's construction page and the Golf Club's project page describe these spaces:
- Dining room. Indoor seating around a central fireplace, with capacity for 150 for golf outings and private events.
- Covered terrace. 74 seats, facing west for sunset views over the course.
- Bar. 64 seats with TVs. The Golf Club calls it the first sports bar in Glencoe.
- Meeting and private event space. The club's renderings show floor-to-ceiling windows.
- Two multi-sport simulators. For golf, baseball and other sports, set up for lessons, leagues and practice.
- Golf Shop. Already open in the new building.
The design draws on the North Shore's Prairie Style tradition, and the central fireplace in the great room is a feature borrowed from Frank Lloyd Wright. The club says the building targets LEED Silver standards, with geothermal HVAC, all-electric equipment and bird-safe glass in every window. The Village says all of it is open to the general public year-round. The Golf Club adds that there are no membership fees.
Golfers have gained something outside too. The irons-only practice range was renovated with 30,000 square feet of fairway-grade sod, which expands the hitting area.
A Slow Finish, Then Friday
Construction ran later than planned. The Record reported that at an Aug. 19 meeting, trustees approved a sixth change order that moved substantial completion to Sept. 11. Public Works Director Monica Sarna said the date had first been Aug. 14 and then slipped two weeks. She pointed to a very wet summer and an "unknown underground storage tank" that crews found and removed during the work. The change order raised W.B. Olson's contract to $15.7 million. On Oct. 9, the Village said construction was "almost complete." The Golf Shop was operating from the new clubhouse, and visitors were asked to follow signs and watch for ongoing work.
Here's what's on the calendar from there:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 4 p.m. Ribbon cutting at Glencoe Golf Club, 621 Westley Road.
- Friday, Oct. 23, 4:30 to 7 p.m. Open house and tours, with light refreshments from The Westley. The Village asked for RSVPs by Oct. 17 through its grand opening page.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. The first date with reservations on The Westley's OpenTable listing.
The Village's referendum plans for the grounds also include cross-country skiing and sledding, an event lawn, a community garden, a bicycle repair and rest station, and outreach and education events. The Golf Club's project page adds a regulation croquet court, pollinator gardens and winter recreation areas across the 126-acre site. These are planned uses, and the Village hasn't yet posted programs or dates for them. The restaurant is the first part of the plan to open, with reservations listed from Oct. 24.
As a North Shore broker, I watch projects like this one closely. Few things shape a town's everyday life more than a new public place to gather. If you'd like to know how amenities like the Glencoe clubhouse figure into what homes nearby are worth, Chaz Walters is glad to go over it with you over lunch at The Westley once it opens. Let's Connect.
