Ferries’ on-board galley services also to change management from Washington business

— by Margie Doyle —

Margie Aipopo, 12-year owner/licensee of Cheesecake Cafe at Anacortes Ferry Terminal, soon to depart?

Margie Aipopo, 12-year owner/licensee of Cheesecake Café at Anacortes Ferry Terminal, soon to depart?

Margie Aipopo, owner of the Cheesecake Café, that has operated for the past 12 years at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, was hoping to renew her contract this year.

Customer feedback and official inspections had led her to think that Cheesecake Café would be re-awarded the contract, and so she was blindsided when, on March 28 Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced that all food service contracts, including the café, the San Juan Souvenir shop and the on-board ferry food service, currently managed by Olympic Cascade Services, had been awarded to Centerplate Inc. a 30,000 employee corporation headquartered in Connecticut. Centerplate also operates concessions in Safeco Field, Tacoma Dome, New Orleans and San Francisco, Santa Clara (home of the 2016 SuperBowl) and San Diego, among other venues.

Aipopo employs 10 year-round employees and 30 during the summer months. She says, “the 12 years of sales growth [at Cheesecake Café in the terminal] show my eye for details and consent adjustments.” This summer, Aipopo’s two college student daughters are coming home to help their mom deal with whatever final decision is made. They grew up working with her, often being dropped off by their school buses at the café doors.

The selection process awarded Centerplate the contracts for on-board food, beverage and retail concessions:

  • On shore food and beverages at Anacortes Ferry Terminal
  • News books and Convenience at Anacortes Ferry Terminal
  • WSF system-wide vending machines
  • WSF system-wide galley services

In its announcement to Aipopo on March 28, WSF said that it had not yet completed its evaluation for the news, books and convenience contract at the Seattle Ferry Terminal. All other contracts were awarded to Centerplate. WSF asked that she vacate the licensed premises in six weeks.

Nove Meyers, owner of Olympic Cascade Services, headquartered in Silverdale, Washington, on the Kitsap Peninsula, has filed an appeal with WSF to reconsider its decision. A spokesperson for Olympic Cascade Services said that the business makes all fresh items in the galley in its Silverdale facility.

In Anacortes last week, Aipopo asked, ‘How did Centerplate convince WSF that they could provide better food services than she has?” When informed of the news in late March, she asked for an official de-briefing explaining the award system. She was told that a response would be forthcoming in seven days; in mid-April she was told she would have an answer, “by the end of the month.”

In the meantime, Aipopo has researched Centerplate’s practices, including lawsuits over employee wages and breaks in several states. Aipopo asks that those who hope to reverse the decision call, write and contact Ferry officials and local government officials:

In 2012, Centerplate was acquired by a  consortium of investors including members of the current management team and private equity firm Olympus Partners. Its services operate in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

 

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