“It is a matter of companies being aware of the enormous business opportunities they have here because it seems that they are not interested in bringing the service when we consider that it has many potential benefits.” ensures it Iñaki Domínguez, manager of the International Center for Fairs and Congresses of Tenerife, the popular Fairground, regarding the management of the cafeteria. The contest for this was deserted and the possibility of direct awarding through the figure of the negotiated without publicity is being considered. In the Auditorium the process remains open and there is still no adjudication with two aspiring companies, the local firm López Echeto and the foreign firm Aramark.
Since the beginning of the year, the Cabildo has been looking for companies to manage the cafeterias of these two associated entities, the Auditorium and the Fairgrounds. In the case of the latter, Domínguez assures that “we are waiting for the final report from the secretary, who acts as a legal adviser, so that the Board of Directors can make a final decision.” It will almost certainly be next month, says the manager. He adds that there are two options. On the one hand, opening a new contest after declaring it void on December 2022. On the other hand, direct awarding.
The manager is “surprised” by the little interest shown by the companies to opt to win the contest. Only one exhibitor from Gastrocanarias asked “but without too much enthusiasm”. Domínguez invites you to visit the facilities because “they have great potential.” He explains it .: “Here there is a kitchen, spaces for catering and even storage at any time because we have a 24/7 security service.”
The catering of organized excursions to the Teide, for example, was one of the strengths of the previous service concessionaire. In addition, the potential consumers have increased, who are no longer only the workers of the site itself but of other services of the Cabildo de Tenerife located in the area.
At the Fairgrounds, the canon was 144,000 euros for two years and another two extendable and had even been lowered compared to the initial one. No company showed up – last December 12 the deadline expired. During the last year, as in the Auditorium, the service has been offered punctually according to the organized act. For example, in the Parque Infantil de Tenerife (PIT) the main cafeteria, on the top floor, was managed by a freelancer and the area near the ice rink, precisely López Echeto, one of the options for the Auditorio de Tenerife.
The Board of Directors of the Center for Fairs and Congresses will decide on the model in March
At the cultural venue, two companies specializing in food and catering services, López Echeto and Aramark, opted for the contest, after the deadline for offers on January 9. The company that ran the cafeteria, Mascatering, now extinguished, stopped providing the service in February 2022. It was closed until May and from then on López Echeto took over in specific acts.
In the announcement published on December 7 in the Contractor’s Profile of the Cabildo, the estimated value of the contract was surprising, 2.1 million euros for three years at a rate of 700,000 per annuity. But that is not the concession fee, but the calculation of the theoretical billing. Among the required conditions is a minimum of eight employees for a total of approximately 1,600 attendees at an event. The document specifies that it is expected to hold 150 annual concerts with a large influx of public. And the subrogation of the six workers is determined: a cook, a room manager and four waiters.
The process is in the moment prior to opening the third and last of the envelopes that contains the improvements of the economic offer of each applicant with respect to the initial conditions. Subsequently, the adjudication will take place. Soon, but without a fixed date.
It is not being easy to recover the pulse of the restaurant spaces in places as emblematic as the Auditorium and the Fairgrounds. They are essential when it comes to offering activities, but the companies dedicated to this segment suffered a severe crisis as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. They still pay it.
