‘Snack bar on steroids’: $4M Chambers Bay project will serve golfers and park-goers

A $4 million new food-and-drink hub at Chambers Bay will offer golfers and park visitors alike a place to wine and dine, relax and recharge — all with a front-row seat to one of the South Sound’s most picturesque vistas.

When it opens, hopefully by mid-summer, The Turnstand, so named for its mid-round placement on the iconic Chambers Bay Golf Course, will replace the longstanding temporary building that served as a snack shack since 2007.

Though that concession stand was open to the public, it generally was used by golfers, said Matt Cohen, general manager of Chambers Bay.

Pierce County Parks contracts course management to Cohen’s employer, KemperSports, which operates more than 150 golf properties across the country. With its quintessential links-style design, Chambers Bay, said Cohen, is “far and away the shining beacon.”

The Turnstand will offer a more robust menu compared to the prior hot dog and cold wraps of yore. Executive chef Skylah Klucker, who also runs the kitchen at Chambers Bay Grill attached to the clubhouse at the top of the hill, is finalizing details with food-and-beverage director Kate Barry. TurboChef ovens will allow for hot sandwiches, pizzas, wings, nachos and more, noted Cohen.

In addition to coffee, tea and various nonalcoholic drinks, a full bar will pour beer, wine and cocktails. Most everything will be available to enjoy on-site or in takeout cups and containers.

“We’re obviously thrilled about the opportunity to introduce something new to the experience,” said Cohen in a February interview. “It’s just gonna be a huge, huge upgrade over what we previously offered.”

The golf course first teased The Turnstand in November after breaking ground at the site, nestled near the meeting-point of the 1st and 10th tees and the 9th and 18th greens. The 2.5 miles of walking trails, part of Chambers Creek Regional Park, also swirl through that circle en route to the meadow, a dog park and bridge that leads to two miles of beachfront.

“We are going to invite and encourage the public to also enjoy it, whether they’re playing golf or not,” added Cohen. “It’s really critical — a more intentional space to use as the hub of the center of the wheel.”

Meanwhile, the upgraded Turnstand will allow the Grill to spread its wings — and the public has and will continue to be welcome there, too.

Funding and design for The Turnstand

By early March, more than the bones of the building had been constructed, including the forest-green cantilever roof that will soon be planted with living greenery, intended to harmonize with the prized berms it surrounds. The awning will provide ample coverage from the elements, while a large skylight above the ordering counter will soak in natural light and lend a spaciousness to the interior dining room.

SHKS Architects is behind the design. Elsewhere in Tacoma and Pierce County, the Seattle firm led the renovations — all completed in 2022 — at W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park, Owen Beach and Frederickson Community Center.

Architect Sean Kelly said he and his team have a particular reverence for upgrading existing, often historical, buildings. Starting from the ground-up at Chambers Bay, they wanted to honor the site’s post-industrial history — just as course designer, Robert Trent Jones Jr., left the berms of Pioneer Sand and Gravel Co.

“The angles of the adjacent berms influence the slope of each hip, and the vegetated/green roof helps it blend with the surrounding landscape,” Kelly told The News Tribune in an email.

Under the large roof/berm, he explained, will be the kitchen and maintenance area, the customer-facing snack bar and accessible restrooms. The northside “opens up towards views of the course, Puget Sound and Fox Island,” he said.

“A primary goal of the design was to merge landscape and building while providing a comfortable and flexible gathering space for guests and staff alike. The building is at a prominent spot at the beginning, middle, and end of the course, so it sees a lot of use and is capable of serving as a temporary clubhouse if the need arises in the future.”

The now-gone modular building, installed as the course debuted in the mid-2000s, was “always meant to be temporary,” explained Sean Hanberg, a projects manager for Chambers Creek. Its replacement was overshadowed by the multi-year proposal and debate of a resort, complete with a new hotel, clubhouse, restaurant, spa, meeting space and villas, as The News Tribune previously reported. Pierce County tabled the idea in 2023 due to a lack of “commercially viable financing” amid rising interest rates, increased costs and limited lending opportunities.

Conversations around how to improve the concessions on the course really started in 2021, according to Hanberg. A public bidding process, which also called for amending the drain field and installing new septic tanks, ran from April to May 2024.

Most of the funding — $3.35 million — for The Turnstand came from the park’s biennial budget and Fund 445. Around $1 million was awarded in 2024 through the Pierce County Lodging Tax fund (LTAC). Pierce County Parks also received $2.34 million through LTAC in 2025, which, in addition to some funding for the golf course’s “stay and play promotion,” will support event infrastructure at Chambers Meadow and upgrades at Sprinker Recreation Center.

The total cost is projected to be around $4 million, confirmed Andriana Fletcher, spokesperson for Pierce County Parks.

THE TURNSTAND AT CHAMBERS BAY

▪ New food-and-drink hub at Chambers Bay Golf Course and Chambers Creek Regional Park

▪ Target opening: Summer 2025, grand opening festivities TBA

This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.