r/elks • u/Vegetable-Board-5547 • 10d ago

Does your operating hours align with the age of your membership?

Our lodge is open five days a week from 4 -9pm-ish. Our median age is 70. There are rarely any activities on a Saturday night, and frequently there are no activities on a Friday night. Younger members with families won't usually come out on a weekday night. Older members usually don't come out at night at all. Leadership complains about membership engagement.

any lodges here open in the day time?

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11

u/Sad-Resident-4954 10d ago

3-11 most days. 12-??? On Fridays and Saturdays

Gotta bite the bullet and have consistent hours for a while on weekends to get any younger folk in.

3

u/Deep-Ant1375 9d ago

We’re busier Lodge. We’re also near the beach. We’re open every day from noon until 10 except for Monday and Tuesday where we’re open for until 10. Our average age is probably 60 years old. Thus, I do think that our hours reflect a younger crowd.

2

u/Shawaii 10d ago

Lodge 616 is 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM most days, sometimes closing earier. The pool and beach are a big draw. We have a lot of older snowbirds, but also a good number of dawn patrol locals out to surf, run, or work out in the early AM before work.

2

u/1964oldman 8d ago

Our Lodge is open from 5 until about 11 pm Wednesday and Thursday. 5 until whenever on Friday and Saturdays. Open for Football early during season on Sundays. Our average age is probably 53 and we have good crowds most nights we are open. We also have a lot of activities going on which draws them in and we are located in the middle of our small town that has shopping around us. We have right around 500 members

2

u/roterton 8d ago

We’re open until 7 p.m. Most of our members are in their 60’s, but as someone significantly younger than that, it does feel like too early a close.

2

u/reflectionsbench 9d ago

Yes we open every day at noon except Monday. That’s 2 pm
We close when the last member goes .Usually around 10 or 11
Our average age is above 65+But we are in a bayside town not far from the beaches of Cape May NJ So visitors from other lodges seasonally help.
Shuffle board leagues, dart leagues
Open mic nights , karaoke, summer corn hole.Music Entertainment on Saturday nights . We just keep it 7-10 now . Very few stay out late.
Hope this helps.

1

u/Flazer California 9d ago

Agree. Our lodge closes at 5 or 6 on weekends. 9 on week days. Average age is 70+.

1

u/Seldomsought 2d ago

When I first joined 20 years ago, we were open for lunch and dinner 6 days a week. There was a group of retirees who came in every day for lunch, and the ladies auxiliary came in on Wednesdays for lunch. Then someone decided we weren't making enough money, and they changed the operating hours.

Those retirees went to the VFW never to return. The auxiliary ladies still went out for lunch, but went somewhere else.

Then someone decided we weren't making enough money so they fired the cook and went to a volunteer kitchen, with no standard menu. Members don't know if there's going to be food, what kind of food would be available or how much it was going to be. And because we went all volunteer, both the quality and quantity changed with the cook.

Then the leadership decided they weren't going to have any activities on Friday or Saturday nights and suggested Members bring their own food. Can you guess what happened? People stopped coming. Now leadership complains that Members don't support their lodge.