The Rancho Santa Fe Association is partnering with a marketing firm to create a brand strategy for its revamped clubhouse restaurant, a project on pace to begin construction in January 2026. At the board’s July 10 meeting, the board approved a $53,000 agreement with Cooper House to help give the renovated restaurant a distinctive identity.
“One thing that has come up time and time again from board of directors but also members is a confusion at times of where the golf club ends and the Ranch Clubhouse begins,” said RSF Association Chief Administrative Officer Dominique Albrecht.
The sharpened identity and branding will hopefully encourage more members to use it and view it as a community asset.
According to RSF Association Planning and Development Director Maryam Babaki, they interviewed two top-tier firms, landing on the national firm of Cooper House which has experience working with restaurants and companies in the hospitality industry. Cooper House will help with things like naming and logos, and marketing materials such as menus and signage, developing branding for people to recognize and connect with.
“The vision for this facility, once it’s improved, is it will be the place to go for everybody in the Ranch,” Babaki said.
The clubhouse has not been renovated since 2007 and is need of some major repairs to fix leaking roofs and floors, in addition to making aesthetic upgrades to elevate the restaurant space. The $8 million project will include improving the functionality of the building and expanding the outdoor patio and bar.
“The vision for this facility once it’s improved is it will be the place to go for everybody in the Ranch,” Babaki said.
Since 2019, the Association has shared in the cost of running the clubhouse restaurant with the RSF Golf Club. Other improvements in the works for the campus on Via de la Cumbre include a parking lot expansion funded by the RSF Association and a new snack bar funded by the golf club. The Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club is also working on an enhancement project that would add two new courts and a viewing area.