WARREN, Ohio – Trumbull Country Club members believed it was time to refresh the clubhouse and golf course.
Tuesday evening, members of the capital improvements committee unveiled more than $3.5 million in renovations and upgrades designed to modernize the facility and create a place members can take pride in.
“It’s just a tremendous, tremendously exciting day,” said Anthony Payiavlas, vice president of the club and co-chair of the capital improvement committee. “Not only for the Trumbull Country Club, but for our entire community. … We want to keep things thriving and moving forward in our community, and that’s what this has really been about.”
Cory Pagliarini, general manager of the club, said the major upgrade was the club’s largest investment.
What started off as refreshing the facility for the first time in at least 15 years became an all-encompassing project.
“We thought, well, if we’re going to displace the members for five or six months, every facet of the club that the member sees has been touched in this remodel so everybody gets some benefit,” said Kevin Murphy, the club’s president and co-chair for the project.
The ladies locker room was completely redone; a swing lab was added downstairs; and more seating was added at the bar, which was something Murphy said new members wanted. The entire facility has a more modern look. He credited Susan Kokal, who served as the decorator for the project, as being “fantastic.”
Murphy said club membership has grown by nearly 300 since he became president, and he expects the renovation to help sustain that momentum.
Pagliarini said the investments since 2021 have included updating the dining room, bars and outdoor seating, along with a $1 million investment in the golf course’s irrigation system that was done hole by hole so as not to disrupt tee times too much.
“We transformed every square inch of the clubhouse, top to bottom,” Pagliarini said. “It’s always interesting when you start knocking down walls and digging into things in a 100-year-old building. It’s funny what you find.”
Although he said no money was found in the walls, Pagliarini said an old stairway to nowhere was found. Even the more senior members Pagliarini spoke to did not know where that stairway went.
Joe DeSalvo, who served as the general contractor for the project, said a panel behind one of the walls had a handwritten list of subcontractors and their phone numbers compiled by a previous contractor working on the country club. A photo was taken to preserve that piece of history of the club.
DeSalvo said his team’s job is to work with the architect, the property owner and, in this case, the designer to execute their vision. DeSalvo said with good workmanship, he believes the results of the renovation project will last a long time.
“We look forward to those challenges that renovation presents,” DeSalvo said. “And this one definitely presented its share of challenges. … I’m very proud of how everything turned out.”
The renovation was a legacy project for the architect, Kim Phillips of Phillips Sekanick Architects Inc. Not only has he been a member of the Trumbull Country Club for the past 45 years, Phillips said his father was the architect on a previous renovation. And both his father and grandfather were members of the club. For him, it was his generation’s time to make the club better for the next generation.
“We took care of a lot of those problems that were behind the scenes,” Phillips said. “So that’s going to help the day-to-day atmosphere, environment and operations.”
Some of those behind-the-scenes changes include the HVAC system, lighting and electric work. Columns in the dining room were updated by exposing the old brick inside them.
“The way our clubhouse used to look, it didn’t mirror what was going on with the economic growth we’ve had in the community,” Payiavlas said. “So that’s where a lot of the impetus for this came from. The community is growing and thriving, and we’re getting our mojo back. We had to make sure the Trumbull Country Club was able to carry that load as we bring visitors and guests here that we hope to try to get them more engaged in our community.”
Pagliarini said Tuesday’s celebration was not just the reopening of the Trumbull Country Club but the beginning of an exciting new era for the club.
“I think now we’re the total package,” Pagliarini said. “The service has always been very good. The food is excellent. But everything needed to match it. Now we feel it does.”
At Tuesday’s event, members were welcomed back by Jennifer Kusiak, the club’s new director of food and beverage operations who gained years of hospitality experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and Chad Wilkoff, executive chef.
“We really talked about service and honing our service over the summer months until we could open the doors,” Kusiak said of the team, which she said is made up of members who are truly hungry to learn about the hospitality industry. “We’re so excited to do so with this great renovated space.”
Not only did members get to experience the new furnishings and finishes, but the event included live entertainment and, of course, fantastic food. Wilkoff, who was trained by Johnson & Wales University, laid out a menu for the night that included herbaceous chicken meatballs, mediterranean kettle chip nachos, shaved prime rib tacos, truffle parmesan gnocchi and sushi.
“We know we have to have Youngstown peppers and oil,” Wilkoff said of the menu. “We keep the simple traditions to the area, and we also have fun and whimsical yummy specials as well.”
The roots of Trumbull Country Club go back to 1898 and the Bonnie Brae golf club. The country club itself was founded in 1915.
Pagliarini said the club’s long history makes him realize it’s something bigger than himself and the current members.
“To see everyone come together and support it, it’s great. And it’s been a Warren landmark forever,” Pagliarini said. “And we hope to keep it that way for another 130 odd years.”
Each member of the renovation team who spoke Tuesday took the time to thank not only the members for their patience throughout the renovation but also the staff members.
“What we’ve been talking about with the staff over the last six months is, the pursuit of perfection is what brings excellence,” Payiavlas said. “I don’t know that we’re totally there yet, but we’re getting close.”
Pictured at top: From left are Trumbull Country Club President Kevin Murphy, his wife, Karen, and Cory Pagliarini, the club’s general manager.