RHM to pull out of RCC

Wave of firings in RHM catering business leads to move

Reading Hospitality Management (RHM) will be pulling out of the Reading Country Club (RCC) contract that they signed less than two years ago, and which they revised just last month.

Word has reached the Exeter Examiner that RHM has let go of it’s entire outside catering staff, numbering about thirty people, in the move. The company is pulling away from it’s outside catering business and concentrating their efforts on the downtown hotel that is their home base, the Doubletree Hilton in Reading.

Two separate sources, wishing to remain confidential, have confirmed the dismissal of the employees and the plan to retrench to the Doubletree. Staff were given an option to remain to fulfill the events they were scheduled to work until mid-June. It is unknown how many exercised the option. Attempts to contact new Doubletree/RHM COO Chris Shellhammer were not returned. Exeter Township Interim Township Manager Larry Piersol did not have any comment on the Examiner’s query.

RHM signed a contract with Exeter Township in August of 2022 to be the exclusive provider of services to the events space portion of the RCC food and beverage business in a lopsided contract that split the revenue 75/25 in favor of RHM. Exeter Supervisor Dave Hughes maintains that the split is more like 83/17, due to his inspection of invoices submitted to the township by RHM. As reported previously by the Examiner, RHM has garnered nearly $900,000 in revenue from the RCC, while Exeter’s portion has been less than $200,000. Losses for the township in the deal have totaled roughly $150,000, after revenue is accounted for. The deal has been panned by some, praised by others.

The contract signed between Exeter and RHM contains a termination clause whereupon the one cancelling the agreement would pay the other $1,000/ month for a maximum of three months to be relieved of their obligation. The termination agreement contains language that will allow RHM to fulfill all booked events at the RCC.

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This controversial chapter of Exeter history appears to be drawing to a close. With the Supervisors meeting on Monday night, we will assume some statement will be made at that time concerning the future of the RCC events space, as well as a disposition of the snack shack, taken over a month ago by RHM.

More on this story as it develops.