EXETER TWP., Pa. – Exeter Township supervisors are in negotiations for a partnership with Catering by DoubleTree to bring the Reading Country Club “back to life,” as one supervisor said.
“The Exeter Board of Supervisors are negotiating a strategic partnership with Reading Hospitality Management through their off-premise catering division, Catering by DoubleTree, to open the Reading Country Club for catered events,” read Chairperson George Bell.
“Reading Hospitality manages the highly-ranked award-winning DoubleTree Hilton in Reading, Pa., where Catering by DoubleTree operates its prep kitchens, and sales, marketing and staffing offices,” the announcement stated.
“The partnership would give Catering by DoubleTree the exclusive right to plan and cater all events at the RCC,” Bell continued. “Catering by DoubleTree would do all the marketing, scheduling, event planning and execution at the RCC.”
This would apply to custom-tailored private and community-inclusive events, including weddings, banquets, proms, corporate meetings, and golf outings.
The company will perform all food preparation off site and will staff events with their own trained employees. There will be no upfront costs to the partnership, and all revenue for the township will be applied to the RCC budget.
They will agree to hold monthly community events at the RCC.
Dan Hoch, director of business development for DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, said his group is excited by the possibility of “returning the Reading Country Club back to the one of the hubs of community activity.”
He said the hotel and its catering arm achieved recognition with a strategy that could work for RCC — by operating consistently with the highest level of customer service and operating under one simple tenet of how they can do that while moving a community forward.
Hoch said Catering by DoubleTree wouldn’t be involved in managing golf, but it would be responsible for planning related events as well as a range of other events, including those that are welcoming to the Exeter Township community.
The board said it’s tentatively planning to reopen the club for a food truck event in October as a soft launch of the partnership.
The supervisors voted 4-1 Monday to continue discussions.
The board still needs to vote on final approval.
