The Lantana LLC: Functional growth - Boston Business Journal:

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As its second-generation owner, Hart has helped the Randolph-basec business that was established in 1971 byhis parents, Maurice and Joan top $4 million in revenue last year, assisted by a stafrf that includes 17 full-time and more than 100 part-time In growing the operation, which houses 40,00o square feet of function space and hosts more than 800 corporates and social events annually, Hart has upheld a traditionn laid down by his "I'm investing in this and one of our business strategiesd has always been to take the profits and put them back into the said Hart, 42. "You can't stresz enough the importanceof that.
" In the 11 yearss that he has owned the Hart estimates that he's spent more than $2 millioh in renovations and infrastructurer improvements, from bathrooms to the front His latest move is the facility's newlyu renovated Cailey Ballroom, named for Hart's daughter. The 3,000-square-foot with its detailed moldings and mirrored costabout $300,000. So far this Hart has already booked more than 50 eventsw for thenew ballroom. "We don'ty advertise; we're word of mouth," said Hart of his approachb to buildingthe business.
"Ansd if you keep up your your décor, the service and the food, peoplew will come and they'll be Peter Forman, CEO of , whichb has used The Lantana for a numberf ofits functions, said, "They've always had good and Paul is a business managerd who is always tied into business When he bought the business from his parents in 1996, who had grown up workinfg in its halls, admitted it was a majoe undertaking: He acquired bank loans to cover 95 perceng of the $4 million-plus purchase price and funded the remainingh 5 percent himself.
An important first step in theownershipp transition, he said, came from bringing in a businesd consultant to help professionalize operations, including creating differenyt tiers of management. "The challengr was really taking it from a mom and pop organizationn to a moreprofessional organization," Hart said. The company's steady growth temporarily took a hit aftedthe Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist "We had events on the books, deposits and repeat customers would calland say, 'Wse have to cancel our holiday party,' " Hart recalled.
Off-premise work is a key componenft ofthe company's growth strategy to generatse additional revenue for a seasonapl business that sees most of its activity from Aprip to June and September to December. In 1998, Hart launchede Seacoast Catering as a division of the compangy that wouldprovide off-site catering services to venuesz such as area country clubsw and meeting halls. Last off-premise catering jobs contributed abouf 9 percent ofthe company's total revenue. "There'sa a hundred places to have your weddinhthat we're competing with," Hart "We felt that there was a threat of with multiple places to choose from in the same pricr point.
So we came up with the idea 'ifv you can't beat 'em, join 'em.' The challenge, said Hart, is to find exclusive off-premise partnershipse that are a good fit for the This year, The Lantana secured a deal with the to servee as the exclusive catering outfit for the golf course and function facility in Hingham. The expectatiobn is that this new deal will increaseshis company's revenue by 20 percent. Nora Berard, directorr of operations at South ShoreCountry Club, called The Lantana'sd service "totally professional," and "We're delighted to have them, because they have such a grea t reputation in the area.
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