Progress on Havana Country Club?

[cabo35]

When we retreated to the Jersey Shore for our annual dose of sun, fun and saltwater, the Havana CC was still under construction. Is it open? Restaurant review? Thanks.

[aln]

The Havana 'pro' was on the radio yesterday morning and said though he can't give an opening date, they're still shooting for "late summer". For me that translates to mid-September. He also said the general contractor has removed his trailer so that's show promise too.

[JLSGreys03]

They dont even have anyone to take over Havana yet no one to lease it??? Per the Food and Bev. Director of the Villages this property will not be run by the Villages

[mac9]

I don't understand. I thought that all of the country clubs were run by paid providers(lessees). Which ones are run by TV?

[graciegirl]

Isn't it just the food part that is sometimes not done by THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA in Country Clubs?

[Indy-Guy]

I have been out of town and just saw in the paper that Havana Country Club golf shop is to open on Sept. 18th and that the restaurant will open soon after the golf shop opens.

Does anyone know if The Villages will run the restaurant or did they find someone to lease it.

[Russ_Boston]

The restaurant was reported to be run by the same people as Cane Garden.

[Mallory]

Cane Garden is run by The Villages.

[Russ_Boston]

Not a bad thing. I love Cane's food.

[Bubbalarry]

Just pray that Mallory Food & Bev Person doesn't take over.

[chelsea24]

Yes, Russ. I called and I was told it would be run by the same people as Cane Garden and I guess that is the Villages. I agree, Cane Garden is my favorite and I think Havana will be a great hangout! Both close to home. :bigthumbsup:

[tkret]

This non-resident but soon to be a Villager agrees that Cane Garden is a great place to spend some time.

[Peachie]

Would anyone mind giving me your opinion of the finished product, Havana Country Club? Mr. Peachie and I weren't real excited about the exterior at that time we were here in May but we know what a great job the developer does with the facades. Did he come through this time?

[Bubbalarry]

Great, great great. I can now golf,eat,drink and walk home if I over extend and not have to worry about being over the alcohol limit.

Just kidding. See you all in late December at Havana.

[gingersmom]

I walked through the resturant last week. It is the exact same floor plan at Caine Garden but the decor is beautiful. Lots of gorgeous tile and dark wood. I hope the food is as good as Caine.

[Peachie]

Thank you, Gingersmom, for the description of the interior of the Havana Club. It sounds like a lovely place to dine. I was wondering about the exterior of the Havana Club, is it quite appealing or not as striking as some of the other clubs?

[Mallory]

Mallory is not run by The Villages. There is a connection with Glenview but it hasn't reached that level yet. It's getting better, even if the decor is a little too foo-foo for my tastes.

Did walk around Havana the other day - it could be a classic.

[chelsea24]

Just curious. How did some of you get to see the interior of Havana? ???

[graciegirl]

AH Hah! This situation needs to be written into the NES. Someone managed to see a Country Club before it was opened. HMMMMMMMMMMM

[Peachie]

It's easy, Chels, just don your painter pants, white shirt and white hat, grab a bucket of paint and walk on in.... ;) 1rnfl 1rnfl

[marianne237]

Sure do hope it's not going to be as noisy as the others!

[Skip]

The Villages Gourmet Club says it's due to open in two weeks. There's a photo of it on their website. They must know!

http://thevillagesgourmetclub.home.comcast.net/page1.html

Skip

[dgammon6]

We were able to see it. Just walked in.

[chelsea24]

It's easy, Chels, just don your painter pants, white shirt and white hat, grab a bucket of paint and walk on in.... ;) 1rnfl 1rnfl


Got my gear on Peachie, and I'mmmmmm offfffffff........... 1rnfl

[Peachie]

Great, Chels, and don't forget you cellphone camera ;D. (I'll expect pictures to be posted shortly.)

[Sgt Mac]

It will be A great spot to Eat, Drink, and much more
Da Sgt

[Indy-Guy]

RUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST A RUMOR

I was told today by one of my favorite bartenders where many of you have eaten.

She said that this is the latest rumor about Havana.

She said that one of the chefs from the food network has signed a lease on Havana to open a restaurant.

She said that is the rumor.

NOT FACT RUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rozzie]

I can't wait till' it opens! Makes my tummy happy that it is the same people from Caine's. :bigthumbsup:

[Indy-Guy]

RUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST A RUMOR

I was told today by one of my favorite bartenders where many of you have eaten.

She said that this is the latest rumor about Havana.

She said that one of the chefs from the food network has signed a lease on Havana to open a restaurant.

She said that is the rumor.

NOT FACT RUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still keep hearing what I entered a while back. I was told it will be announced soon.

[twynsmom]

I have heard the same rumor as to it being a foodnetwork chef, George Stella, "living low carb". Here is something I found on his web site and it pretty much confirms the rumor and the Nov. opening. He mentions it in his blog, part way down the page.

http://stellastyle.com/community2/forum/viewtopic.php?p=70768 :coolsmiley::clap2::MOJE_whot:

[Golf-Tinker]

The following link is the Gourmet Club's website. Scroll down to Havana. Further confirmation that it's no rumour.

http://thevillagesgourmetclub.home.comcast.net/~thevillagesgourmetclub/page1.html#H

[Indy-Guy]

Glad to hear that it is not a rumor and is fact.

[Skip]

The following link is the Gourmet Club's website. Scroll down to Havana. Further confirmation that it's no rumour.

http://thevillagesgourmetclub.home.comcast.net/~thevillagesgourmetclub/page1.html#H

It's just amazing how this club knows so much.

They announced that The Villages version of SKY Asian Fusion was open the other day and I haven't seen a thing in the Daily Rag yet.

Skip

[teekart]

I had read on the gourmet club website the food network chef George Stella was to be the manager and chef at Havana. Stopped at the pro shop on Saturday and I am pretty sure I saw Mr. Stella having a meeting outside the restaurant. I do hope it is true.:clap2:

[pili]

I read message in The Villages Gourmet site that said they were waiting for chef to arrive. According to posting they are bringing someone who lives in Massachusetts now. He's supposed to be a very good chef and was at one of the Disney restaurants in the past.

Pili

[graciegirl]

Rozzie? You may want to gather the bunch here on November 1. It sounds wonderful.

[SNOK]

I read the blog linked by twnsmom. What is that about "STD's""? Where would he get that and is it true? What's going on in TV?

[WSOX47]

Are we still "two weeks" from openning? The September 11 posts indicated two weeks to opennings. We'll be in TV in about two weeks and I was just wondering what's the latest expected openning date.

[captain1202]

WSOX47...

Re: STD's...they don't say "Florida's Friendliest Hometown" for nothing.:wave: It took a lot of hard work to earn this designation.

If you search the blog you'll see previous threads on this matter.

[WSOX47]

Ohh... thanks, but Seafood Crabs is the type :pepper2: I may be interested in.

But...when oh when will the Restuarant be open? Does anyone know??:click::pepper2:

[Skip]

But...when oh when will the Restuarant be open? Does anyone know??

Not until November, according to the club's website. :coolsmiley:

Skip

[WSOX47]

Thanks. I'll check that once we're back in TV--end of month

[DickY]

The Villages Vmail for November has this video:

http://www.thevillages.com/newsletter/200810/RE/happenings.htm?src=newsletter-November08&code=VR0811&acct=2759547&auth=607632

[chelsea24]

Wow, Havana looks beautiful! I'm so glad it's right down the road. I'm planning on making it my new hangout! Yeah! :a040:

[bestmickey]

Verrrry pretty! It would be nice to dress in 30's garb and go for dinner there.
Someone save me a barstool!

[Russ_Boston]

A 1930's style Cuban dress party is an excellent idea. I think someone should approach the management of the club about some such event. Maybe a once a year happening!

[bestmickey]

I agree RB...perhaps it could be used as a fundraising event. I'd approach the management if I was already living in TV but (sadly for me), I'm not yet there.

I think it would be nice to be a fundraising event for cancer, since it's the disease that strikes nearly every family. OR, perhaps it could be a fundraiser for veterans. Actually, there are probably less fundraisers for veterans and thus more of a need. I could see using the money raised to directly benefit veterans in some way. Any other thoughts?

Any existing Villager interested in starting this event? I promise to assist once I'm living there. I'm hopeful that will be in the summer/fall of '09.

[chelsea24]

A 1930's style Cuban dress party is an excellent idea. I think someone should approach the management of the club about some such event. Maybe a once a year happening!

I'm all for this Russ! Great idea. Latin dancing too. Very sexy.
I can't wait until it opens. It's beautiful. :pepper2::2excited:

[Donna]

Wow, Havana looks beautiful! I'm so glad it's right down the road. I'm planning on making it my new hangout! Yeah! :a040:

I'm directly accross the street..I can jump the fence and run there...:a040: At least I can't get lost :1rotfl:

[Peachie]

Donna, do you think you will be able to smell the Cuban cigar smoke from your lanai? :pepper2:

[tkret]

I'm directly accross the street..I can jump the fence and run there...:a040: At least I can't get lost :1rotfl:

Donna,
Does this mean that after the club closes at night we can just come across the street, hop the fence, and continue the party?

Lucky you... a nice area, indeed.

[villages07]

Donna,

Your statement conjures up the image of the old Frogger game.... I can see you leaping over the fence, dodging golf carts on the the cart path, weaving between the cars while going across Morse Blvd, to reach your destination at Havana. Be careful. Ribbit.

Maybe you ought to work on digging a private tunnel under Morse.

It will be great to have that beautiful club so close by. Lucky you!!!

[beady]

I haven't been down to see it yet but now I am really curious.....I'll have to take a cart ride ....

[dgammon6]

Wife and I met George Stella at Havana a couple of weeks ago while looking at the Pool etc. He said they planned to open around Thanksgiving. Then we ran into him at RJ Gators the other night and my wife realized who he was, she had read his book. He is the Chef partner and will be opening soon. We can't wait.

Check out, http://www.stellastyle.com

[imbrennan]

We called up there this week as we had a golf game booked. When we asked about opening they said the end of this month, so I guess Thanksgiving looks about right.

[Villages Kahuna]

I have heard that the Havana restaurant will open on or about December 1. It has been leased to and run by a chef who formerly had his own program on The Food Channel.

The decor is "1930's Havana Supper Club" and the pictures of it look beautiful. It looks like it will have an "open" kitchen so that diners will be able to observe the food preparation.

The menu is reported to feature seafood and Cuban dishes, all cooked in a "healthy" way. From the video distributed recently by TV, I'm guessing that the menu will be a little pricier than most, maybe in the same range as Arnold Palmer. But that's just a guess on my part.

[cashman]

OPENING WILL BE DEC 1 2008:pepper2: