The Rancho Santa Fe Association Board of Directors is gearing up to vote on a funding plan for a major overhaul of the Ranch Clubhouse restaurant—an upgrade estimated to cost around $9.4 million. The vote takes place Thursday, December 4, at 10 a.m. at the Association offices on Avenida de Acacias. Bring coffee. Maybe a calculator.
According to the Board, renovating the Ranch Clubhouse has been a “strategic priority” for several years. Some residents, however, have raised questions—like whether it’s legal (or fiduciarily responsible) to dive into a multi-million-dollar project without a member advisory vote… or whether pouring millions into a restaurant that has lost up to $1.6 million a year might be financially questionable.
When the project was first floated at $2–$4 million, Board directors asked for a member advisory vote before spending heavily on design consultants. Former Director Rick Sapp argued a vote was premature and should wait for further design progress and construction estimates. That vote, we were told, would come later. Yet at every stage since—and now with the price tag exceeding $9 million—the Board has done everything possible to avoid holding one.
Show Me the Money
The Association is floating a $9.4 million estimate (not including the planned major re-do of the parking lot.) Here’s the funding breakdown:
- $3.9 million will come from General Services, operating profit, cash, and investments. (General Services, you may recall, is enjoying the 2.5-cent assessment members originally approved for open-space purchases, then watched morph into the Fiber Fund, and now see quietly split between General Services and the new Covenant Enhancement Fund after the fiber loan was paid off. This quiet shuffle—performed without a member vote—allows the Board to proudly claim the project requires “no assessment increase.”)
- $5.5 million will come from a five-year construction loan: interest-only for the first year, unsecured, with a ten-year amortization at a 5.51% fixed rate.
And the long-term plan? In five years, the Association intends to roll the remaining $2.7 million into its line of credit with Citizen’s Bank — which the Board is increasing to $5 million — and pay it off by 2034 using general operating funds. Because nothing says “fiscal confidence” quite like refinancing a renovation you never voted on.
The “Cobb Salad Problem”
Here’s where the spreadsheet starts to sweat.
The Association’s CFO says debt service will run about $717,000 a year—roughly $60,000 a month. Add that to the restaurant’s $1.6 million annual loss, and suddenly the operation needs to claw back $2.3 million just to get to zero.
If a typical restaurant clears about 10% profit (and that’s generous), the Clubhouse would need an extra $23 million in annual revenue to break even. That’s $2 million a month… roughly $100,000 a day. At an average meal price of $100, you’re looking at 1,000 additional meals every single day. In an HOA with 1,800 homes? Hope everyone’s hungry. That’s a lot of Cobb salads. Get ready for “monthly restaurant minimums”—we’ll just call it a soft assessment.
The reality is the restaurant will never break even. The real question is whether pouring even more millions into a struggling amenity is worth that much of our dues.
What the Renovation Includes
The project promises the full luxury-treatment makeover: a new roof, new windows, fresh interior furniture, a new round bar, big fancy Nano doors opening to the golf course, an expanded patio, upgraded kitchen equipment, redone bathrooms, new lighting, and fully updated electrical systems inside and out.
Ocio Design Group created the plans, JLL will manage the project, and Bycor General Contractors will carry out construction.
As the project moves through County review, construction is expected to begin in January with completion slated for August 2026. And while the renovation promises shiny new everything—some residents are already wondering how the restaurant will handle the pressure to generate millions in new revenue. After all, when a project comes with this kind of price tag, the real makeover may be in the menu. Better brace yourself for the elevated Cobb Salad and a not-so-Roy pour.
If you have an opinion on the project, you can always provide member input. So far, the CFO’s staff report says no members have submitted input. The satirical musings of Tom D. on NextDoor don’t count.
Attached are the RSFA’s staff report and backup documents and LOC information for your own number crunching. It was somewhat of a treasure hunt to find them. Give the Directors a shout at memberinput@rsfassociation.org.