UNC Nutrition Research Institute Seeks Proposals for its Grab and Go Café

KANNAPOLIS - The UNC Nutrition Research Institute located at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis solicits proposals from vendors interested in operating a Grab and Go Café on its first floor. In exchange for exclusive use of the 440 square feet space, the university is interested in a turnkey arrangement with a third party vendor, whereby the vendor takes care of compliance with health department regulations and inspections, maintains liability insurance, maintains a suitable inventory of agreed upon food products, posts and maintains operating hours per mutual agreement, and provides staffing to operate the facility.

The Café is equipped with refrigerated display cabinets, a commercial coffee maker, a carbonated beverage machine, a cappuccino maker, a hotdog grill, and a food warmer. It comes with a 200 square feet work room/storage area containing refrigerated storage, dry goods storage, and an industrial sink. Utilities will be included in this arrangement. The vendor will need to provide a cash register. This space is designed for the sale of pre-packaged foods only. There is no on-site kitchen available for cooking.

Although the Grab and Go Café in the UNC Nutrition Research Building is open to the public, the primary customer base is the North Carolina Research Campus community. Currently, 153 people work in the UNC Nutrition Research Building, the adjacent Plants for Human Health Institute building and the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building. The Rowan Cabarrus Community College building is scheduled to open in August, 2010. We estimate that at any given time during the day, Rowan Cabarrus Community College will have at least 200 faculty, students, and staff.

There is no particular format for proposals or letters of interest. However, UNC requests that the following items be addressed: 1) proposed hours of operation, 2) types of food to be provided, 3) marketing, 4) staffing, 5) insurance, 6) health department regulatory compliance, 7) pricing, and 8) expectations/requirements from the UNC Nutrition Research Institute. If you would like additional information, please contact Jana Harrison, Deputy Director for Research Administration at jana_harrison@unc.edu or 704-250-5004. Proposals are due no later than 5pm on July 27, 2010.