After a three-week extension, the window to bid on the lease to replace the Green Lion Cafe at Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor Golf Club closed the afternoon of Sept. 29, just as Hurricane Ian had cleared the area. After initially resisting disclosing how many parties filed a bid, the city on Tuesday reported that two had done so.
The bids were opened on Saturday. The city has up to 30 days to disclose the bidders’ identity. It may do so earlier by announcing which of the two bidders it intends to negotiate a lease with. Until then, Florida law exempts those identities or the bidders’ documents from being publicly disclosed.
At least two local restaurant owners have shown interest by downloading the bid packages: Thai and I in Bunnell, and the Turtle Shack in Flagler Beach. That doesn’t mean they are among the bidders–only that they downloaded all bidding documents in time to bid.
About 18 vendors are listed on the publicly accessible city portal detailing the bidding process or the concession lease agreement. Some of the vendors are companies that scour such sites to harvest the information and disseminate it elsewhere. The city doesn’t require the vendors to disclose their actual name, so many used assumed names to hide their identity.
City officials are not discussing the bid response, but they are likely disappointed. The bidding first opened on Aug. 25, with a closing date of Sept. 15, at 2 p.m. By that morning, no bid had been received. The city that morning extended the bidding window for two weeks. A city official did disclose at the time that there were two interested bidders, and in fact one of them ended up filing a bid before what would have been the 2 p.m. deadline on Sept. 15. The second bid was filed since.
Thai and I, the restaurant operating in place of the old State Street Diner in Bunnell, downloaded the documents under its own name. The owners of the Turtle Shack in Flagler Beach, operating under the corporate name of Niday Enterprises (the company is owned by Linda Niday of Palm Coast) downloaded the package under the corporate name on Sept. 19.
There was no hint that the Green Lion was among the interested parties. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t. But Chris Marlow, who has managed the Green Lion since it opened at Palm Harbor in 2017, showed little interest in the fate of the city’s bidding process when contacted near the end of the first deadline. He said at the time that his family, which owns the enormously popular Golden Lion in Flagler Beach, is focused on building and opening a $3 million restaurant, what will be called the Next Door Beach Bistro, adjacent to the Golden Lion on State Road A1A. He said he himself was focused on that and on his own young family and newborn son.
In 2017, when the city was struggling to revive both the deficit-ridden Palm Harbor Golf Club and what had become a neglected concession by then (the place did not really live up to the word restaurant), it issued a request for proposal, much as it is doing now. The response was the same then as it was this time: two bidders. One of them was quickly disqualified, leaving the Green Lion.
The restaurant was given six months’ free rent, then rent of $500 a month, with the city assuming numerous overhead costs, from water and sewer to electricity, internet and trash pick-up. It was a remarkably generous package. The restaurant became successful to the point of figuring as Trip Advisor’s top-rated restaurant in the city. The golf course, no longer operated by a management company but by Palm Coast parks and recreation, also turned around.
Rent increased for the restaurant lease, but only to $600 a month, prompting the city to start renegotiating the lease last year. Tortuous negotiations followed, and eventually spilled into the open as the Green Lion’s owners clashed with members of the Palm Coast City Council in a succession of rollercoaster meetings. The city administration on two occasions had worked out a new lease that the Green Lion appeared ready to accept. Rent was to increase significantly and the Green Lion was to assume additional overhead costs, bringing the city to and past a break-even point in 2023.
But on both occasions, council members–not the administration–derailed the potential agreement with new demands, infuriating Green Lion owners enough that at one meeting the owners lost their cool and became offensive toward the administration and the council. They later regretted it. But differences appeared irreconcilable.
The city exercised its option to sever the lease “for convenience.” To do so, it had to give the Green Lion six months’ notice, and refund the Green Lion a full year’s rent–$7,200.
The new bid request describes the restaurant as an 88-seat facility (48 on the deck) that would have to be open seven days a week for a minimum of eight hours each day. The golf course is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Rent would still be a modest $1,500 a month to start, with an annual increase of 3 percent. (Ironically, that’s roughly in line with what the Golden Lion would be paying in property taxes alone this year, not including the Next Door Bistro‘s property taxes.) But the tenant would have to assume the costs of all utilities, including 50 percent of the water and sewer charge for the trailer, bringing the monthly cost closer to $3,000.
That’s about $1,000 more a month than the Green Lion had been willing to pay when it last debated the issue with the council–and when the council decided to add water costs to the bill.
While the new lease proposal suggests that the city would more than break even, the numbers remain deceptive. The city is still responsible for all building maintenance and repairs. Those are not minor costs. Any serious repair would quickly devour whatever modest surplus the city hopes to gain from rent payments. In other words, even at $3,000 a month, the business occupying the space will be subsidized by taxpayers to a degree, in addition to having the captured patronage of a golf course that “hosts approximately 54,000 rounds of golf per year and draws customers from the surrounding area,” in the city’s description.
For comparative purposes, the Funky Pelican in Flagler Beach operates in a city-owned building at the pier. It pays the city just under $4,000 a month in rent, plus all utilities, trash collection, phone and internet service, plus a profit-sharing arrangement that has the restaurant paying the city 3 percent of gross sales exceeding $1 million. (See the Funky Pelican lease here.) Whoever wins the lease at Palm Harbor Golf would have it far easier, and would, in addition, be allowed to keep its books closed to city eyes.
Lee says
Oh wow, I pray that Thai & I do not close the little gem in BUNNELL, so convenient for the south western part of Palm Coast to have a great Thai restaurant close by.
The food is excellent and prices are just right
Jimbo99 says
As this continues on, it looks like the Green Lion was absolutely correct for a trailer they sunk $ 100K into, what the rent/lease deal should be ? It’s a golf course, what exactly is a Thai restaurant going to have on the menu that will appeal to golfers. Any food at a golf course restaurant is going to have to appeal to the traffic, local duffers. Decades back I worked at Indigo in Daytona. They had an upscale restaurant by night, during the day they really did more business with steam tables of bar food at the clubhouse 19th hole. Burgers, hot dogs and wings.
“Rent would still be a modest $1,500 a month to start, with an annual increase of 3 percent.”
So Palm Coast Government screwed up a good thing, I get the restaurant can’t operate at a deficit to taxpayers, But the Alfin administration is delusional that a trailer like that is a $ 1,500 month rental with other bills tacked on. The moment the rent goes up, food menu prices go up and anyone that was a customer is going to now consider anything around the corner. Golf course restaurants are a matter of lazy convenience if the food isn’t the cuisine desired. Here’s the logic of any golf consumer. I just don’t think Alfin & others really knew what the business model & consumer is for what they want to lease. The whole process was too painful to follow in the media, it must have been a waterboarding to actually be there & sit thru. And this is the mess it is. Flagler & Palm Coast aren’t Built Back Better for it really.
Does the restaurant feed value menu as the path of least resistance. Once those golfer unload the cart after a round they are on their way home. A lunch hours golfer is going to weigh whether a snack out of a vending machine & a drink gets them thru the round. When it’s over with, if there’s something as close as the European Village that has bar food & Pizza, that’s going to be competition. And once someone is in the car do they even stop there vs going home or something they prefer closer to home.
Does this change drive golfers to another course that aligns with the outing they expect & are accustomed to. They may have driven golf greens fees away from the course in addition to the Biden inflation model.
John Oarkes says
It’s been reported that the City Council is upset by one of the Green Lion owners calling them “robbers” as he left the Council chambers. Let there be no question that the name calling did NOT begin with the Marlow family. Our very own council started the name calling at a prior meeting when one Council member referred to the initial lease as a “sweetheart agreement” and said the Marlow’s were ”robbing the taxpayers”. These comments it seems were made out of ignorance of the history of that lease agreement and out of not doing his job as a Councilman. All Councilmen were given a folder to review prior to that meeting that contained Green Lion information. Apparently this Councilman did not do his homework. It seemed obvious he had NOT read his folder! Our Mayor baited him with simple questions about the proposed lease that he couldn’t answer. Yet he continued to badger and criticize showing his very lack of knowledge and ignorance about that entire matter. That should never have occurred and now the issue is way out of control with egos involved. I think that this councilman owes the Marlow family an apology and the taxpayers of Palm Coast an apology. But don’t hold your breathes waiting for it. Hopefully our Palm Coast voters will be more selective about who they elect in the future. We don’t deserve the arrogance and divisiveness we now have with our city “leaders”.
Denali says
Please quit calling this building two “trailers”. They are technically “modular buildings”. This building consists of prefabricated modular units joined together at the jobsite and mounted on a permanent foundation. These modular units were built to the same building code as every other commercial building in the state at their time of construction. The fact that they were built in a factory under controlled conditions and delivered to the project site over the road does not make them “trailers”.
Wallingford says
As usual, the City Council should have listened to the “Voice of the People” and rectified the new Lease. Residents of PC attended a Board Meeting in masse and eloquently expressed their opinions in favor of the current ownership of the Green Lion. Instead the rogue Board discounted the opinions of the Residents of Palm Coast and now find themselves with a Property that nobody seems to want to Bid on. Maybe the Board should see if they can reconstitute the Lease they rejected. Or, maybe we need to refresh the Members of the Board in the upcoming election.
Jeff says
Nobody wants a Thai restaurant at a golf course
John says
The funky Pelican gets a lot of tourist dollars. I doubt tourists ever manage to find the Green Lion.
James says
Just sell it to a developer and build condo’s on the golf course because that’s what the leadershit of this town will do anyway!!!
Laura says
Oceanfront houses value in the millions but two blocks away (aka no view) for a fraction. In real estate location is everything, especially for businesses ! Beachside venue with views vs old trailer on a city golf course alone justifies the rent & terms differential.
Palm Coast doesn’t even have a coast and its city manager & council are so delusional to think their despot properties have the same economic allure.
Scott Kalb says
Thank you for mentioning the $100,000 that the Green Lion put into that restaurant. It was not mentioned in the article. The situation is sad……I am looking for to the Next Door Beach Bistro!!!
Cheryl Poirier says
I can’t wait for the new restaurant to open in Flagler Beach. I will be there for sure. Love the name Chris! No doubt it will be just as good as Golden or Green Lion. I wish you all the best!!!
Blossom says
Lesson learned here, at great loss to the citizens who trusted these individuals to make good decisions as well behave themselves in meetings. Not possible. I will not vote to re-elect a single person on this Council. Your grandstanding cost us a very precious business.
Skibum says
Ha! If a Thai restaurant is under consideration at the city owned golf course, it might just as well be a raw sushi bar LOL! I’m sure the locals and golfers alike who have been filling the seats of the Green Lion for the past several years, to include breakfast as well as lunch an dinner, will just love some raw fish on their plate! I happen to like Thai food, and have a favorite that we frequent every once in awhile, but call me stupid if I believe such a restaurant is doomed to fail at the golf course. And as I’ve stated before, I don’t care what the city would agree to put there in place of the Green Lion, if they kick that great restaurant out and replace it, I absolutely will NOT be eating there, ever!.
Concerned Citizen says
in·san·i·ty
/inˈsanədē/
noun
noun: insanity
the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness.
“he suffered from bouts of insanity”
See also doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same.
This entire local government insists on getting involved in sweet heart deals. That do nothing but bite them in the ass. How much time is this one issue consuming? Time that could be spent handling real issues. Instead of being wrapped up in petty bickering.
@ Our various councils.
Election time will come around again. And you are not irreplaceable.
@My fellow constituents.
Please remember all of these shenanigans when it comes election time.
Mmmm says
Trailers trailers trailer trailers
Mmmmm says
Why would anyone want to take over that lease given how the City treated their last tenant?
They did try to rob Green Lion. I’m glad Green Lion stood up to them. Residents wanted them there but as usual the govt never listens to the little people.
I hope agreed Green Lion lands on their feet.
As far as the trailer trailers trailers go…😀
Eli says
This city council like others in the past 17 years that I have lived in Palm Coast does not have the city resident’s best interests in mind. Their constant bickering and disrespect amongst themselves is proof . Through the years it has been said that Palm Coast is not “business friendly” and this debacle with The Green Lion makes that statement a reality once more.
Leila says
Congratulations, Mayor Alvin and Council,
You have successfully destroyed one of our most successful restaurants. Several hundred residents showed up at your hearings, asking that you save this restaurant. All that fell on very arrogant and deaf ears. Wondering of any of you have ever dined there? This will not be forgotten when each of you is up for re-election. Expect to see condos there very shortly, despite what you hear. That is the reputation of this city.