Much of its lunch business comes when faculty and staff drop by for lunch. The dinner trade has relied for years on alumni who live near campus. Now the club faces sharper competition. Other restaurants have opened in the Homewood area and in Baltimore in general, giving members a wider choice of places to dine out. At the same time, the club feels the pinch of limited parking to accommodate visitors.
Demographic factors weigh in as well.
Typically, club members have been older alumni. As that generation moves into retirement homes with all-inclusive meal service, the utility of the club has waned. Appealing to younger alumni to fill this demographic gap, however, is not so easy. As undergraduates now come from and disperse to wider geographic areas, fewer young alumni stick around Baltimore. Single doesn't expect hordes of Gen-X alumni to come flocking in soon, but notes that the staff has increased the number of events designed to attract a new generation.