Issue:

Dear Members,

At Dan’s request, I am writing the October President’s Column. I am also sharing on his behalf that Dan became ill during Silver Week and required surgery. Thankfully, he is now on the road to a full recovery. While we won't go into details, it may be a month before we see Dan back at the Club. He should be able to check emails in due course, so please feel free to drop him a line to wish him well, or let me know and I will gladly pass on your message. Regarding Club governance, we have a full complement of Directors and Executive Officers who will step in to ensure it remains business as usual during his absence.

And now on to Club business. Thank you to everyone for your patience as our food & beverage service provider changes over to Tokyu Hotels & Resorts. ANA Catering Service concluded their withdrawal from the Club on Sept. 28 as planned. On September 29, a professional cleaning crew came in to ensure our kitchen and pantry facilities were spotless before Tokyu Hotels & Resorts took the reins. We have also utilized this downtime to make repairs and replace some equipment that has seen too many years of service. Starting today, Oct. 1, Mr. Kato, Chef Katanosaka and their staff are in the Club making preparations to begin service on Oct. 5.

Please note that the Masukomi Sushi Bar has remained open. With member-friendly pricing and an increase in utilization, I highly recommend making a reservation early:

On Sept. 16, representatives from the Board and Food & Beverage Committee visited the Kichijoji Tokyu REI Hotel for a tasting session of Main Bar menu items, and left full and happy. Peter Lyon’s report and photos are available in this issue. Many of the dishes were perfect as is, but we also made a few requests. This fine-tuning will continue as we settle on our signature and mainstay dishes for the Main Bar.

With a short turnaround between the awarding of the contract to Tokyu Hotels & Resorts and the launch of operations, the opening date of the Pen & Quill is yet to be determined. As soon as we have finalized Pen & Quill menus, operating hours and accessibility, I will inform the membership.

Lastly, this month marks the Club’s 81st anniversary, and we are hoping to have a celebration to not only mark this auspicious occasion, but also to showcase food by Tokyu Hotels & Resorts. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

Kind regards,

Wayne Hunter
FCCJ General Manager