Ortt Companies dish on plans for new Clubhouse Grille, bigger banquet sales

(April 13, 2020) In just two years, the Matt Ortt Companies helped steer Ocean Pines’ food and beverage operations away from record losses, and toward record-breaking profits.  

So, what do they do for an encore?  

“Our main objective is to give the people the kind of food and service they want without having to leave their own backyard, and we think we have room to make that even better,” Matt Ortt Companies cofounder Ralph DeAngelus said. “And, we think we have room to bring even more income into the Ocean Pines food and beverage facilities.” 

DeAngelus singled out banquets as an area where he’s particularly targeting growth, from small gatherings in the Yacht Club dining room, to elaborate beachfront weddings. Events Manager Lia Isel oversees banquet bookings for the Ortt Companies.  

“Lia is unbelievable,” DeAngelus said. “It doesn’t matter if a banquet is for 300 people or 30 people – she puts the same amount of energy in it, and her energy level is on steroids!  

“She’s a big part of the generated sales at the Yacht Club and Beach Club, and she’s going to be able to bring in even more business. She books banquets in every nook and cranny of those facilities, both upstairs and down,” he added. 

DeAngelus said both venues offer something unique for weddings and banquets.  

“The person that likes their wedding at the Yacht Club is not the same person that likes to have a wedding at the Beach Club – they’re just a different kind of bride,” he said. “The bride that gets married at the Beach Club is the kind of bride that wants to dance with her dad in the sand with her shoes off. The bride that gets married at the Yacht Club is the one that wants to have the princess experience. We can provide both of those super easy, and we’re starting to get a lot more inquiries from both kinds of brides.” 

Starting in May, the Ortt Companies will also oversee a third Ocean Pines food and beverage venue: The Clubhouse Bar and Grille, located inside the brand-new Ocean Pines Golf Clubhouse. DeAngelus’ group will run banquets there, where he sees unique opportunities for local clubs and organizations. 

“It’s a smaller facility that doesn’t have that much of an ambience – yet. We’re hoping to help bring an ambience to it,” he said. “I don’t see it being a giant wedding facility, but I think a lot of local groups are going to want to have events there and they’ll love it there. And we’ll be able to accommodate them cheaper there than we will at the Yacht Club.” 

As for the new restaurant and bar, DeAngelus said the Clubhouse Bar and Grille would mostly offer “grab and go” fare, similar to the Beach Club. He promised “a great burger and reasonably priced beer.” 

DeAngelus joked the Yacht Club kitchen is large enough to feed “the 4th Marine Battalion,” while the Clubhouse Bar and Grille facility is more modestly sized, just big enough for golfers and those who live close by in the neighborhood.  

“We’re not going to compete with the Yacht Club,” he said, adding breakfasts at the Clubhouse Bar and Grille would help bring in addition income from a market “that we never had before.” 

“We think Ocean Pines is going to totally dig having a nice little place to stop by and have breakfast, that they can walk to,” he said.  

As for the Yacht Club, DeAngelus said staff are working to expand the slate of summer entertainment, bringing in fresh, new bands from a variety of genres. 

“We know the classic rock genre is big and we know that works,” he said. “We’re also bringing in a dance band called ‘Mike Hines and The Look,’ and they’re great at what they do. I’ve known Mike Hines for about 25 years, and his act is still fresh and exciting and energetic. I think everybody’s really going to love seeing him.” 

Summer concerts at the Yacht Club, DeAngelus said, are unlike anything else around, aided in no small part by the sprawling, picturesque view of the Isle of Wight Bay heading into the twinkling lights of Ocean City on the horizon. 

“I think our favorite part about what we do at the Yacht Club is our outside entertainment,” he said. “We get the most out of watching 100 people on the dancefloor, while there’s 600 people sitting on chairs and another 400 people standing around the bar. 

“And you know what’s great about it? It’s the demographics,” he continued. “You have the 28-year-old mother and father with their 6 and 7-year-old kids having a ball, and then two seats over is the 77 and 78-year-old grandparents, who are sitting there with their grandkids also having a blast. We love the diversity of the crowd on a busy summer night.” 

Along with managing three Ocean Pines facilities, Matt Ortt and Ralph DeAngelus will also soon open their own new restaurant, Coastal Salt, on 16th Street oceanside in Ocean City.  

“We’re really excited about this place,” DeAngelus said. “It’s going to be more of a ‘Rare and Rye’ type of dining, more upscale and slightly pricier than the Yacht Club. And, like the Yacht Club, it’s going to have an unparalleled view. We’re going to have 124 seats outside on a patio that’s 30 yards away from seven trillion gallons of water. That’s really hard to argue with!”