Trend-Forward Dining Experiences: A Decision Driver for Baby Boomers in Home Shopping Process

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As Baby Boomers plan their retirement, where they live, opportunities they'll want to pursue and how they'll spend their time are key focuses when considering the next chapter in their lives. As they look to downsize and move to communities to be with people who may share their same interests, they're looking to live an enriched lifestyle that offers more than they've had before.   While there is a notion that 55+ home shoppers seek communities with pristine golf courses and large-scale clubs as their main interests, Shea Homes®' resort lifestyle brand, Trilogy®, has seen a tremendous uptick of interest towards food and beverage programming in homeowners indicating a bigger shift in priorities.  In a recent proprietary study surveying 55+ home shoppers, 70 percent said they would like to have a chef-driven food and beverage program in their community, proving there is now a higher expectation on dining experiences than simply offering a traditional bar and golf grill.

In the same study, 90 percent of Boomers surveyed said they would like to have a sit-down restaurant in their community. To add, 45 percent said they would join a wine and cocktails club if the programming was available.

Trilogy by Shea Homes has been at the vanguard of creating new ways to meet consumer needs for pre-and post-retirees since 1999.  Not satisfied with simply having golf grills, the homebuilder redefined the dining experience for homeowners by embarking on a mission to have high quality, visually exciting dining experiences at communities nationwide early in its 20-year history. A testament to this execution is the award-winning Regions 117, located at Trilogy at Lake Frederick, outside of the Washington DC area. Regions 117 offers farm-to-table-inspired dishes with made-from-scratch American comfort food in a warm, inviting atmosphere. Frequented by homeowners and residents in the surrounding area, the restaurant's menu changes seasonally and is overseen by the Executive Chef like a sole proprietorship.  

Encanterra®, a Trilogy Resort Community, which was one of the first within the industry space to offer personal wine lockers to its homeowners as well as incorporate private dining spaces in addition to its signature restaurant, a feature now included in most Trilogy clubs. Encanterra was also the first to feature multiple bar and restaurant executions within its club.

Wine clubs at Trilogy have grown vastly over the years, as it's now one of the more popular clubs amongst homeowners at communities nationwide.  In response, Trilogy recently launched the trend-forward program, Barrel Masters, consisting of over 1,000 homeowners and growing daily, which provides homeowners preferred pricing on wine ordered through the Club, access to special wine events, private wine storage and more. The first of its kind offered nationally in lifestyle communities, Barrel Masters allows homeowners to discover new regional wines through industry experts.

"Our food and beverage offerings for our homeowners have evolved significantly over the years, as we now create our restaurants to be a social experience and the center of what we do," said Jeff McQueen, President of Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities, the division that leads the Trilogy brand. "Today, Trilogy homebuyers aren't looking for traditional bar and grill restaurants with the same menu offerings or standard amenity programming they can have at any community in our industry space. They are seeking an elevated experience where they can socialize, try new cuisines, attend culinary classes, wine pairing classes, all led by a community's executive chef, and more."

Restaurants across Trilogy communities, which all have regional, seasonal offerings native to their geographical area, recently received over 40 Diner's Choice Awards from Open Table. Diner's Choice Awards selection process is based on a collection of reviews from real diners across the country.  

A significant differential to others in its industry space, Trilogy's food and beverage programming is delivered by hospitality-trained resort teams, creating a one-of-a-kind dining experience for homeowners, local patrons, private parties and events hosted at each restaurant.

Currently, Trilogy manages 12 resort clubs within both their 55+ and resort lifestyle communities across the country. In addition to locally popular on-site dining venues and chef-driven food and beverage programs, each club can include but is not limited to resort caliber amenities such as hiking, walking and biking trails, championship golf, pickleball and sport courts, high-tech fitness facilities with personal training, full-service day spas, creativity studios, sports and game lounges and resort pools.

For more information on Shea Homes' Trilogy communities across the nation, visit SheaHomes.com/Trilogy.

About Trilogy® by Shea Homes
Shea Homes currently has 14 Trilogy® 55-plus and resort lifestyle communities across Arizona, California, Washington, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, having developed a total of over twenty 55+ and Active Lifestyle master plans since the division's inception in 1999. Trilogy communities are designed to create an enriched lifestyle through exploring new interests and activities, overall wellness and connecting to a vibrant social life. Homeowners experience a true resort-caliber lifestyle managed by a resort-trained staff. Each Trilogy community is designed to embrace its natural surroundings and provide a variety of experiences which may include signature restaurants, golf, movement and fitness studios, day spas, pools, culinary classes, hiking trails, sports courts and more.  Trilogy® by Shea Homes® has been named America's Most Trusted® Active Adult Resort Home Builder in the proprietary Lifestory Research study for years 2013-2019. Your experiences may vary. Visit lifestoryresearch.com. For more information about Trilogy communities, visit Sheahomes.com/Trilogy.

SOURCE Shea Homes