The Santa Barbara City Council unanimously approved a new 10-year lease agreement for Mulligan’s Cafe at the Santa Barbara Golf Club on Tuesday.
In July 2015, the Parks and Recreation Department was directed by the City Council to negotiate terms of the existing contract with Mulligan’s Cafe, which has been providing food and beverages to the the golf club under a concession lease for more than 23 years, the city staff report said.
The current lease is set to expire on June 30.
Some of the provisions included in the new lease are clear maintenance obligations, building improvements that would be funded by the tenant, introduction of minimum beverage cart hours, an annual marketing financial contribution, and a commitment to work collaboratively with the city and CourseCo, the city’s new golf management company, according to the staff report.
The 10-year lease will have annual rent of $130,000..
The approved ordinance also contained obligations for the tenants to improve Mulligan’s Cafe, including new flooring, interior painting, refurbishing the men’s and women’s restrooms, installing transparent acrylic glass to the outdoor patio, and purchasing new tables and chairs for the interior of the restaurant, according to city officials.
One of the key aspects of the new lease is an emphasis on marketing and it suggests working with golf course management company, CourseCo., to get more tournaments and events at the course, the report said.
In response to golfer feedback, there will also be new minimum cart service hours.
According to the report, the fiscal year budget of 2017 includes concession revenue at $158,555, which is in line with the proposed financial terms of the contract.
— Noozhawk intern James Fike can be reached at jfike@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.