Innovation Center Food Vendor
Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
Buffalo, NY
Date Issued:
6/1/17
Submissions Due:
6/21/17
Submission Details:
Email response to this RFQ in PDF format to contacts below.
Prepared by:
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
Contact Information:
Jonathan McNeice
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
[email protected]
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
BNMC Inc. seeks a new food vendor for its Collision Café space at the Innovation Center. Collision Café
is a food vending kiosk in our main lobby that is intended to not just provide breakfast and lunch
options, but spur conversation, networking and social interaction among our tenants. We are looking for
an established food vendor from Buffalo and the surrounding area who strives to meet our mission of
supporting local businesses, local sourcing and healthy options and who is excited to be a part of our
exciting future.
The Building
The BNMC, Inc. owns and operates the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center, an entrepreneurial
hub in Buffalo. It’s a 108,000 sq ft LEED-certified incubation space housing a variety of companies
including those in life sciences, biotech and social innovation, as well as businesses offering support
services like IP attorneys, talent acquisition, sales, and marketing. The collaborative and entrepreneurial
setting provides an excellent environment for businesses to grow and network.
Offering a collaborative work environment for companies of all sizes, our “plug ‘n’nplay” space is
perfect for entrepreneurs and small businesses who want to focus on growing their businesses, rather
than spending time and resources on managing office details.
More than 100 companies currently call the Innovation Center home, housing nearly 400 employees.
The space, located in the heart of the thriving Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, is designed to
accommodate small to medium start-up companies seeking office, wet lab and/or research space and is
available on a month-to-month basis or via longer-term leases.
We also own and operate “dig”, the region’s largest co-working space and popular event space. 43
North, the world’s largest business idea competition, has its incubator in the IC, serving as home base to
its winning companies from all over the world.
The Space: Collision Cafe
Collision Café is located in the front lobby of the Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott Street on the Buffalo
Niagara Medical Campus. It provides breakfast and lunch options, Monday through Friday, to tenants in
the building as well as those from neighboring buildings who are seeking unique food options. There is
also the option of a grab-and-go cooler to provide 24/7 food options and the potential for catering in
the building and across Campus.
Specifications:
-
Size: The kiosk currently is 8’ x 12’, some modifications could be made
Power: There is adequate power support for refrigeration units, kitchen equipment and coffee
making equipment (including espresso making)
Hours: Suggested hours are 8am – 2pm Monday through Friday but open for discussion
Storage: There is a small amount of storage space available
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About BNMC, Inc.
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to
facilitate collaboration and address shared issues among member institutions that form the 120-acre
Medical Campus and our surrounding neighborhoods.
Our team builds on the assets of our world-class Medical Campus – known for its clinical care, research,
and education – to support its mission of furthering economic growth, igniting urban revitalization, and
building a strong, thriving community.
The BNMC, Inc. focuses on collaboration, creative problem solving, and resource sharing, and takes a
whole-systems approach to building a stronger community. While our work is constantly evolving, we
invest the majority of our time and resources into impact areas that we believe when addressed
together are the building blocks for a healthy city.
Preferred Food Services
Features that we are looking for:
1) Hours including breakfast and lunch, Monday - Friday
2) Food Options including local and healthy options
3) Zero Waste Philosophy
4) Local hiring
5) Creating an environment that promotes collaboration
Statement on Sustainability and Local, Veteran and MWBE Participation
BNMC is committed to helping stimulate the local economy, helping promote social and economic
inclusion, and minimizing adverse environmental and health impacts of our purchasing and
procurement decisions. We encourage businesses that can help us meet these commitments to
respond to this RFQ.
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RFQ SUBMISSION DETAILS
Please submit a brief response to the following questions:
1) Please describe your business and key personnel, including contact information (email and
phone).
2) Please describe your experience with similar operations, including how your experience helps
align with our mission and vision for the Collision Café space.
3) Please include services you currently offer (made to order, grab-n-go, catering, deliveries, etc.),
and what services you would like to offer at the Collision Café space.
4) Please provide a sample menu of what you currently specialize in/offer, and describe how you
would approach providing healthy, local and seasonal options (food and beverage) at the
Collision Café.
5) Please provide your existing approach to staffing, and how you would approach local hiring
goals for the Collision Café space.
6) Please provide information on how you currently source your food and ingredients, and how
you would plan to source your food and ingredients at the Collision Café space.
7) Please provide examples of how you have promoted your business in the past, and thoughts on
how you would promote your business at the Collision Café space.
8) We strive to be a zero waste building and have a single-stream recycling system and composting
system. Please describe your current efforts to reduce waste associated with food
preparation/food services, and how you would approach this at the Collision Café space.
9) Please describe how working with your business can help us support local, veteran-owned,
minority-owned, or woman-owned business enterprises.
RFQ Questions
Questions regarding this RFQ will only be accepted via email. If you have questions, please submit them
to [email protected] by Wednesday, June 14th by 5:00 PM. The Project Team will compile all
questions and create a Q&A document. This Q&A document will be shared via email with all
organizations who received the RFQ directly from the Project Team, and with organizations who
submitted questions by the deadline.
RFQ Submission
The RFQ submission deadline is Wednesday, June 21th, 2017 by 5:00 PM EST. All submissions should be
in PDF format and less than 10 MB in size. Submissions will only be accepted via email at
[email protected].
RFQ Follow-Up
The Project Team will conduct a blind review of the responses and will reach out to select candidates
based on the information provided in the response for follow-up interviews. Follow-up interviews may
take place before the deadline as proposals are received.
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