Innovation Project Development: Akwesasne Mohawk Casino JANUARY 10 www. bus- ex. com 135 T he introduction of casinos on Native American tribal lands has had an enormous impact on local communities through increased tax revenues and demand for local goods and services from visitors. So when the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe signed a gaming compact with New York State in 1993, it paved the way for the opening of the 60,000- square- foot Akwesasne Mohawk Casino some six years later. Food thought A major overhaul to raise the level of performance of the food and beverage department has exceeded all expectations

136 www. bus- ex. com JANUARY 10 Success within the gaming area was not matched by the organization's food and beverage operations, and the Tribe recently embarked on a major overhaul with its focus very much geared toward customer satisfaction that will enhance the Akwesasne experience. Located in Hogansburg, New York, the casino is just eight miles from the US- Canada border near Cornwall. It employs more than 700 people, mostly non- natives who happened to live nearby, though roughly 30 percent of the workforce is Mohawk. The site is open 24 hours a day and features 1,580 gaming machines and 20 table games that bring revenue not only to the Tribe for infrastructure improvements but also for the wider St. Lawrence County community. However, the success of the casino was undermined by a lack of detailed understanding of the food and beverage opportunities. With expansion plans very much on the agenda, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe decided to take stock of their operations and turned to the experience of Innovation Project Development ( IPD). Headquartered in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, IPD is a multi- disciplined project management services company capable of providing consulting advice or total development oversight. The business operates effectively as an owner's representative, providing project scope description and site concept, modeling and planning optimum sizing for maximum revenue, and coordinating design and construction work, with a focus on the gaming industry. Over the years IPD has been involved in many of the most prestigious gaming and leisure development projects in the world, and its impressive portfolio includes: Bally's Las Vegas, Caesars Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Foxwoods Development Company, plus many more. The tribe and casino management team had regarded food and beverage as amenities that were acceptable as loss leaders for gaming operations. This outlook had resulted in the Akwesasne casino not investing effectively in its staff, training system, food offerings or indeed the food halls themselves. It was decided that the business needed to implement the Step Up program- a staff training guide and monitoring process that enabled it to measure ( and raise) the level of performance of the food and beverage department. With IPD already on board, courtesy of a separate construction project, discussions began on the company becoming involved as consultants, on the forthcoming food and beverage review. " We were 100 percent committed to obtaining the skills and training needed in order to maintain internal management of our F& B amenities," said Akwesasne food and beverage operations manager Phil Sawyer. " The goal was to encourage our long- term independence as an operation, and the immediate impact approach we took with IPD was very well received by management and staff." That approach was IPD's Step Up program, which tracked every process from the dock delivery of supplies, kitchen layout and menu choice right through to the serving of food in the casino's restaurants. By closely monitoring every aspect, IPD and the casino's management team were able to pinpoint training needs and areas of the food and beverage operation in need of investment. " With some straightforward observations and prompting, we realized very quickly that we were missing out on an incredible opportunity to reposition our property, diversify our overall product offering for patrons and generate revenue," Sawyer explained. " Once our eyes were open to the possibilities, it was easy to get everyone on board with the physical improvements, training programs and operational modifications that were recommended," he added. One of the first areas to undergo transformation was kitchen functionality, and several critical functions were relocated while additional space allowed the expansion of the existing menu. The redesign also identified a requirement for supplementary storage, cleaning, scraping and food preparation. As the new- look food and beverage initiative gathered pace, two new food outlets were added ( a Grab ' n Go and a new sports bar, Sticks), which were created following the decision to remove a gift shop and charter The Wendel Companies and its Native American-owned subsidiary, Kennedy Wendel LLC, specialize in providing structural engineering, civil/ site engineering, landscape architecture and construction management services to the tribal gaming industry. Dedicated to helping create Native American communities that are strong, self- sufficient and sustainable, Wendel is proud to partner with Nations all across Indian country, including the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. Wendel Companies