If you’ve been around the area for a while then you remember Matt Roher when he was Owner/Executive Chef at Cha Bella from 2007-2011. He had quite a following there. The restaurant was at the height of its popularity and Matt was developing a “Farm Box” concept with fresh produce delivered to your door once a week. He even tried his hand at BBQ in Bloomingdale. Then it all went silent. Matt Roher went off the radar.
“I’m a recovering entrepreneur”, he says. I hear ya. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
I lost touch with Matt for a few years until 2013 when I was speaking to a lunch group out at The Landings Club. I turn and look at a doorway, and he walks by. It was like seeing a ghost. Wow. The Landings? Matt? What are you doing here? Turns out Matt Roher has been keeping very busy at The Landings Club, and Savannah as a whole will potentially benefit from it.
If you don’t know how it works out on Skidaway Island, The Landings are a private residential community. There are four clubhouses on their massive property. Each of them catering to the golf crowd. Some of the prettiest courses I’ve played in this city are at The Landings. Each of those clubhouses has a restaurant. Each of those restaurants essentially operated independently. And sometimes, accidentally or otherwise, competed against each other. “It was like herding cats”, Matt tells me. There were different Directors of Operations and everyone was pretty much doing their own thing with their own agenda. Not exactly the model of efficiency when everyone is operating under the same umbrella. There were whispers throughout the community that banquets were better at one spot, but seafood was better at another. Matt Roher was doing his thing at Marshwood, one of the four clubs on the property. “We had done some great stuff at Marshwood”, Matt says. A short time later, Matt was asked to share what he was doing with the other clubhouses. He was essentially hired to be the fix it guy. In a movie about all of this, I’m gathering he’d be played by Harvey Keitel. What followed, essentially, was a complete overhaul of the culinary operations at The Landings. From the bottom, up.
“We got them excited about what we were doing again”, Matt says. “Slimmed down management, basically down to cooks, and got them passionate about what they are doing.” The result is a renewed approach to the way you eat out at The Landings. They no longer compete against each other. The goal is to compliment each other. “Now, if you want to have a wedding reception or a banquet at any of our clubs, it’s all under the same umbrella. Same quality.” “The Landings hasn’t had the greatest reputation”, Matt says. “Now? I’ll put us up against anyone in town.”
Strong words, but now you have a chance to try it. There are talks of developing Non-Resident Member options for dining at the Clubs at The Landings, but that is down the road. Next month, Matt and his crew are hosting a dinner as part of the Savannah Food and Wine Festival and he can’t wait to show off his shiny new car. The dinner is a seafood extravaganza. Oysters, Cedar Roasted Wreck Fish, house-made Sushi are just some of the items. It will be limited to sixty seats and I have zero doubt this event will sell out. The Landings community alone could fill sixty seats. This is open to everyone, so if you’d like to attend, I’d suggest you get your tickets sooner rather than later.
The big picture here is pretty obvious and ultimately it could benefit us all if you enjoy a nice dinner out. For the longest time, The Landings ran a nice community, but their choices for meals were just another option. Matt Roher was put in place to try to change that entire perception. “As demos shift, the whole culinary scene and the Food Network culture, we want to be first choice dining”, he says. “Pick one of ours before you get into your car and roll the dice downtown.”
Like I said, those are pretty strong words considering how demanding the clientele can be, but hey, all Matt Roher wants is for you to give him a chance to back those words up. I’ve got a feeling he will.
For more information on the Five Course Savannah Food and Wine Festival Dinner, visit savannahfoodandwinefest.com.
See you on TV.
Jesse
