Waynesboro Elks Club reconsidering move

October 06, 2009|By JENNIFER FITCH

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The Waynesboro Elks Club might not be moving after all.

BPO Elks Lodge 731 has been navigating through a tumultuous time. After announcing that financial problems would cause the club to close Aug. 16, Elks leaders decided they might be able to operate a smaller club if it was staffed by volunteers for at least a year.

Their kitchen and restaurant equipment will go on the auction block at 10 a.m. Monday.

The Elks met Monday evening and continued to talk about whether the club could reopen in its existing location at 66 W. Main St.

"We actually had to get extra chairs out," Exalted Ruler David McJonathan said. "We had members come that hadn't come to a meeting in years."

One plan was to operate the club in the building's massive basement, but members seemed to prefer using the bar and seating area on the west side of the facility, McJonathan said. They hope that a restaurant would use the kitchen and ballroom side, then establish a partnership to serve food in the club, he said.

"We'd simply partition off between the restaurant and club," McJonathan said.

If bar staff worked for only tips for the first year, the operating budget would be an estimated $35,000, not including the cost of products like liquor, McJonathan said.

Further decisions will be made after the auction, he said. To view the auction listing, go to www.auctionzip.com.

BPO Elks Lodge 731, which had 383 members as of July, rents the facility from Martin Investment Group.

Wireless Internet was added to the facility in hopes of drawing younger members to the club on their way home from work.

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