54 | APRIL 27 • 2023 

I

n 2019, a small group of 
investors from diverse 
backgrounds purchased 
Wabeek Country Club.
The Bloomfield Hills coun-
try club, which is known for 
its golf experience (particularly 
its junior golf programs) and 
resort-style pool, underwent a 
$10 million renovation that sig-
nificantly increased its mem-
bership.
Since the ownership change, 
Wabeek’s membership has 
grown from 150 members to 
some 400 member families, 
says Richard Simtob, 53, of 
West Bloomfield, an investor 

partner and club board mem-
ber. 
One main contributor to 
the growth is an increase in 
Jewish members, which Simtob 
estimates to be 40% of current 
membership.
“With the recent push in 
membership, we’ve got a lot of 
Jewish members coming from 
other clubs in the area and 
young professionals,
” explains 
Blake George, 36, of West 
Bloomfield, who is also an 
investor partner and club board 
member.
Now, with the spike in 
Jewish membership, Wabeek 

is currently in the process of 
forming a Jewish board that 
will identify ways to best serve 
its growing Jewish population. 
Simtob, who is a Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek member, will be 
leading the endeavor.
The board will focus on 
creating and executing Jewish 
events, holidays and activities, 
particularly for families with 
young children. “We’ve talked 
about potentially having Blue 
and White Day on May 14,
” 
Simtob says, “and obviously 
Chanukah is a big one.
”
The new committee, Simtob 
explains, will “figure out what 

makes sense so we can drive 
more traffic and let people cel-
ebrate their culture, as well as 
get the kids more involved.
”

LIFECYCLE EVENTS
In recent years, Wabeek has 
hosted a number of Jewish 
weddings and hopes to contin-
ue serving the Metro Detroit 
Jewish community as a venue 
for Jewish lifecycle events, 
including bar and bat mitzvahs.
The venue can accommodate 
up to 400 guests, but Simtob 
explains that the venue can be 
broken up into smaller events 
for 100 or 200 people. “We 
have two lobbies and one big 
room that can be split down 
the middle,
” he says. “You can 
have two parties going on at 
the same time and they’ll never 
even see each other.
”
As for the style of food 
Wabeek is serving up, George 
calls it an Israeli-Mediterranean 
concept within the dining 
venues that also carries over 
to banquets. It’s a cuisine that 
meets many of the cultures 
that make up most of Wabeek’s 
membership, which includes 
a mix of Jewish, Chaldean and 
other individuals.

Wabeek Country Club looks to best-serve its 
growing Jewish membership.

Reinventing

Experience
Country Club 
the

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

