Olympic Cascade Food Services of Silverdale, on the Kitsap Peninsula, has provided food on multiple ferry routes
— by Margie Doyle, reprinted upon request from July 17 —
A petition by Susan Meyers to maintain local vendors for ferry and ferry terminal food services is circulated through a MoveOn.org campaign. The petition will be delivered to Governor Jay Inslee.
Orcas Issues readers are encouraged to sign the petition and circulate it. Earlier this spring, Washington State Ferries made the decision to end the contracts for ferry food service and Anacortes terminal food vendor and to award them to Centerplate, Inc., a Connecticut corporation that operates food services in metropolitan arenas such as the Tacoma Dome. (See https://theorcasonian.com/wsf-to-close-cheesecake-cafe-at-anacortes-terminal/ ) Olympic Food Services, which operates out of Silverdale, Washington, on the Kitsap Peninsula, appealed the decision.
The petition reads: “Don’t let the Washington State Ferries replace local companies with a multi-national corporation. Protect Washington small businesses and local jobs!
“Petition Background
Washington State Ferries is about to shut down at least 3 local women- and minority-owned businesses and replace them with an out-of-state, multi-national corporation. More than 100 jobs could be in danger. This process needs to be STOPPED. Revenues and jobs need to STAY IN WASHINGTON!”
Thanks to Victoria Compton
having local suppliers is an admirable goal but frankly when I consider the service that we have had at the Anacortes Terminal with the Cheesecake Café and the ferry onboard service during the same period, it has been lackluster at best. SODEXHO did a better job previously. I am in favor of a change.
People will throw around numbers of local jobs to be lost but I seriously doubt there will be that many fewer employees in-state than with the existing contractors. In all likelihood, many of the folks who work on the vessels will remain with a new contractor if for no other reasons than the vessel training they have already received and the over-reaching influence of unions in the WSF system.
I would not sign the petition.
Why the “keep it local” theme? Do we think the new provider will hire employees from California? Or from Mars?
This seems to be a campaign to protect one local business owner (Cheesecake Cafe) and another from Down Sound (Olympic Cascade).
What islanders need is reliable service, fairly priced tasty offerings, and schedules that fit our needs. (Ever notice that the galley on the Sidney boat is closed in the late afternoons and evenings, when we return from the mainland?)
So when we ask to “keep it local,” remember how unreliable and highly priced the service is today. . . .
If we all, as local customers, don’t support the food vendor on the ferries, then whomever that company may be is irrelevant. Ask yourself, how often do you buy other than a cup of coffee or some popcorn !!
If the menu included some items that actually were enjoyable, then I would consider eating on the trip home. Who remembers the old days when you could order eggs, bacon and potatoes on the morning run. WOW, there was a real grill in the galley.
Unless the fare offered on the ferries is more than expensive junk food, then I don’t care who the vendor might be, nor do I expect to buy anything other than the ubiquitous cup of coffee.