[Bonny]

Originally Posted by BigbirdPhila

There is one unique place to dine & dance in the Villages and it's being destroyed. People take visiting friends there to show off the community. Some of those visitors buy at the Villages partially because of seeing KB's. It's part of the tour Village real estate agents give to prospective buyers. There are golf courses, rec centers, restaurants, and bars in other retirement communities. But there is only one two-story dance hall, restaurant, and entertainment center that looks like it's something from the set of Gunsmoke. And it's in the Villages.

Management is taking something unique and turning it into a commodity. People can go to multiple places in the Villages for a reasonable quality meal, listen to free music, and dance on a small dance floor. There will be nothing "special" about the new KB's. It will be a commodity. What will be the point of even keeping it "residents only" any more?

Commodities don't increase property values. Unique venues increase the value of a community. It would be far cheaper & less risky to experiment first with opening KB's to the public to increase profitability. And/or charge a cover charge. BB King's in Orlando charges a cover charge just to enter -- whether or not you buy anything to eat. And its decor is mundane compared to KB's.

There is a "goodwill" value to KB's that should be added to its bottom line each year to determine its real value to the corporation & the community. The same technique used by accountants to assess the value of a business beyond its balance sheet. The goal should be to maximize the total value of the Villages corporate & private community, not individual components. Some components will contribute more, some less, to the overall value. Much like "loss leaders" are used in retail stores to draw in the customer who will then spend money on other items, increasing the store's total profit. Will another "commodity" restaurant increase the total value of the community more than a refurbished unique venue?

I say this as someone who meets friends at KB's two or three times a month for dining and dancing. Either lunch or dinner, or both. I drive 110 miles and 2 1/2 hours (round trip) to do it. Because KB's is unique. I won't do that for the "new" KB's. I will be able to have that same experience much closer to home.

We have been here 15 years. I doubt very much if Katie Belles/Cattle Baron is adding any value to the community or our property and we love that place.