RIVER OAKS KITCHEN EXPANSION!
In June, Governor Walz allowed for the allocation of the 841.4 million from the state’s share of Federal CARES Act funds to local governments who had eligible costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Cottage Grove submitted the Coronavirus Relief Fund Certification form to Minnesota Management and Budget, and by the end of July, the City received $2,813,281.
The CARES Act Funding went towards many different facets of the City; including public safety measures, disinfection of public areas, staff teleworking equipment, unemployment costs for furloughed workers, and COVID leave costs. After all these expenses, there were still funds to be shared.
Aerial view of the progress made on the new River Oaks kitchen expansion.
Due to COVID-19, the staff has been challenged to maintain efficient operations for food and beverage service here at River Oaks while assuring protection to employees and patrons through a safe work environment. The current two-kitchen system accompanied by the lack of storage space and doors on the main level poses complications in food preparations, traffic patterns, touchpoints, and delivery and storage. This led to the Parks and Recreation Department to put together a proposal that would help mitigate these problems and make River Oaks a safe place to work and keep their guests happy.
On September 2nd, the Cottage Grove City Council voted on a contract proposal for the expansion of kitchen facilities at River Oaks at a not to exceed price of $672,345.
It was approved. The construction will break ground in the next few weeks and is expected to be completed before the end of the year. This new expansion will help River Oaks achieve the financial success that COVID-19 has compromised, both in the short term and long term.
balls! Stop in our clubhouse to ask to use the range, and just $10 will get you an hour on our practice range to hit as many balls as you can. You will find pyramids of practice balls waiting for you at your driving stall. All balls are guaranteed to be clean and sanitized. If you need more balls, our staff will be more than happy to supply you with more until your hour is up.
learn more. Sign up for a tournament to compete for glory!
River Oaks now has regulation bocce ball courts and bags boards! With our two newly built bocce courts and regulation bags boards, you can expect some tournament events scheduled for this summer. Our bocce courts are open to the public for free when there are no events scheduled. Grab some friends and meet at our patio bar overlooking the 18th hole and the Mississippi River for a fun summer evening. Follow our 
River Oaks now has bocce ball! This year we will be including two newly built and regulation-sized bocce courts. Our courts feature an amazing patio bar overlooking the Mississippi River on the 18th hole. The courts are open to the public for free when there are no private events scheduled. The new bocce courts and outside bar can be rented out for private events such as your next birthday party, retirement party, family reunion, team building, wedding party or anything you can think of! Stay tuned this summer as we are putting together event and tournament packages for our guests.
more contemporary golf carts. Our state of the art golf carts are equipped with course maps and GPS tracking allowing you to look up yardage. These carts also include Bluetooth speakers, so you can listen to your favorite music and USB charging ports for charging your devices. They have direct communication with the clubhouse, so you can order food right from your cart making for an easy and comfortable ride. 
With New Year’s resolutions come New Year’s renovations! River Oaks received the green light earlier this month to undergo some extensive refurbishing and decorating. In truth, the River Oaks Club House and Event Center is over 20 years old and is overdue for a more contemporary makeover. This past month, what started as an idea of freshening the walls with a few coats of paint has ultimately led to a complete redecorating of our bar and event center.
We didn’t stop at the banquet room. We have also redecorated our bar and grill with a fun and exciting new look. New cabinets and a new countertop were installed in our dining area for more storage and utilize the existing space. Like the banquet room, the bar was also coated in fresh paint with a new color! Come check it out for yourself.
season will offer even more space and opportunity for the sport.
Through many years of a lot of hard work, traveling, sweat, and dedication JW worked his way from Kitchen Supervisor to Sous Chef to Executive Chef to Corporate Culinary Trainer before finally becoming the General Manager. It was as General Manager that JW helped open 9 new Grandma’s locations including opening 
It can be difficult working on your golf game when you live in a northern state like Minnesota! If you live in the Twin Cities metro area, you are lucky to get six months of solid golf play before the long Minnesota winter shuts down like the white lid of a box. Even though most Minnesotians are acclimated to the cold weather, nobody wants to golf in a foot of snow with a windchill of – 20 degrees. Whatever the reason, it’s during the winter months that we need to find creative ways to keep improving our game. I mean, we’re not gonna stop golfing just because of a little cold weather, are we?
However, there are heated indoor driving ranges you can go to that will allow you to take a full swing at a real ball and watch it fly off the tee! The 
