Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Café will provide beverages and high quality light fare to Library customers and staff
at good value. The Library will provide a designated section of the Library with area for
the Café business operation and small scale food preparation and an area for the
establishment of Café style seating. The total area is approximately 680 square feet. A
water line and electricity are provided. Gate counts show traffic at the Library to be
almost 500,000 per year. There are over 150 full and part-time staff employed at the
Library. Library hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday during school year. Closed Sunday during the
summer. The Library hosts numerous meetings that may provide some catering
opportunities from time to time.
The Friends will enter into a contract with a Contractor (successful applicant) who meets
the criteria set forth in this Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP sets forth general
selection criteria. This is intended as a guideline for interested respondents. Actual
selection is expected to encompass an interview / negotiation process in addition to the
RFP.
The Café must provide moderately priced fresh food selections (ex. desserts, muffins,
bagels, biscotti, salads, sandwiches, soup, fruit, etc.) coffee and tea, as well as juices and
other cold beverage selections.
Operation of the Café (cart, kiosk, or counter, etc.) must conform to the state and federal
laws and local ordinances. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to obtain and maintain all
appropriate licenses and permits.
No set rent is to be paid to the Friends by the Contractor. Utilities (water and electricity)
are provided without extra charge for reasonable use. Payment will be a monthly
commission paid by the Contractor to the Friends and will be a percentage of gross
sales after adjustment for New Jersey sales taxes.
Examples of types of food to be offered (some or all of the following): Muffin, Bagels,
Biscotti, Cookies, Cakes, Fruit, Salads, Sandwiches, Soups, Packaged Snacks.
The food and beverages offered need to be of high quality, with good variety and good
value. The services needs to customer-oriented and be in no way conflict with any aspect
of the mission, vision or goals of the Library. In addition the successful Contractor will
be one whose proposal for operation of the Café demonstrates a thoughtful and realistic
projection of the associated revenue and expenses and addresses other areas of
importance to the Friends and the Library.
Each applicant may be interviewed by at least one member of the Evaluation Committee.
The Committee may request prepared samples of proposed menu selections for
evaluation
No fees or costs are associated with the submitting of this proposal. The successful
proposal will be selected primarily based on evaluation of proposal. The Friends reserve
the right to reject any and all proposals.
Evaluation of the following criteria, while not exhaustive, will guide the determination of
the successful Contractor. These criteria should be addressed as part of the submitted
proposal.
1. Business Plan Points of the business plan to be evaluated are listed in the
subsections below. Subsections and plans may be combined and additional
material may also be submitted:
** Library hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday during school year. Closed Sunday during the
summer. Closed on some holidays. All modifications or additional equipment to be
delivered to or installed in the Café space must be approved in advance by the Branch
Manager. For purposes of food preparation, cleaning, etc. the Contractor will be
allowed access to the Café space two hours prior to Library opening time. Contractor
must permit the Library to use Café seating space, tables, and chairs at times when the
Café is not operating and the seating is to be available to all Library patrons at all times
even if they have not purchased food from the Café.
E) Profit Sharing Proposal. Percentage of gross profits that the Café will
provide to the Friends of the Library monthly as payment. (proposal
must indicate percentage Contractor is willing to pay.)
2. Proposed menu: evaluated on food and beverage pricing, quality and variety
(including healthy options or alternatives)***
IV Proposal Requirements
1. Cover letter:
• Applicant’s legal name
• Applicant’s primary address
• Applicant’s telephone number
• Signature of applicant indicating that the individual has
authorized and attested to accuracy of the entire
contents of the proposal
2. Business Plan
• Resume
• Financial Plan
• Operations Plan
• Marketing Plan
• Profit Sharing Proposal (must state % to be given to
Friends)
3. Menu
• Food and Beverage Selections with Pricing
4. References and Credit Check
• Three professional references with contact information.
• Signed letter of consent to cooperate in a credit and
criminal check (provide social security number(s)).
5. Declaration of potential conflicts of interest
* Whether “Applicant” is a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation of any type, please include the
relevant information of contractor’s legal status.
The terms of the agreement (final contract) resulting from this RFP will be for one-year
from the date of contract execution. The Friends may, at its discretion, extend the
contract for additional one year terms. Prior to exercising an option to renew, the Friends
reserve the right to review financial records of the Contractor, including statements of
revenue and operating expense for the Café. The Library may, if warranted, require the
Contractor to enter into good-faith negotiations regarding an increase in the shared profit
percentage prior to renewing the contract. The conditions for ending the agreement will
be set forth in the agreement.
All proposals must be submitted to the Friends of the Library through the Friends Library Liaison, William
Brahms, Branch Manager, 203 Laurel Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043, no later than 4:00 p.m., October 15,
2004. Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope, plainly marked “Proposal for Library Café” There
will be no public opening of proposals. The proposals will be provided to the members of an Evaluation
Committee. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed via U.S. Mail, by October 15, 2004. This RFP is
intended only as a general guide for preparing and submitting a proposal. The final agreement (mutually
signed contract) will supercede and serve as sole and final agreement of terms and conditions.