NPS Releases Concession Prospectus For Acadia National Park

The concessions contract for the Jordon Pond House and other facilities in Acadia National Park is up for bid. Photo of the Pond House by David and Kay Scott.

The National Park Service recently issued a prospectus for ten years of seasonal retail and food service operations in Maine’s Acadia National Park. The concession consists of a large food service establishment and retail operations at Jordan Pond House plus smaller retail operations at Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole.

Acadia does not have lodging facilities inside the park. The proposal’s major concession is Jordan Pond House that provides the park’s only food and beverage service for lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.

The NPS reports the park’s concession units have generated annual gross revenues during the last three years of $5 million, $5.7 million, and $5.8 million. Approximately half of revenues resulted from food and non-alcoholic beverage sales.

The National Park Service estimates the Acadia concession will require an initial investment of approximately $2 million. This includes the need for warehouse and office space, plus some employee housing, outside the park. Personal property including furniture, fixtures, equipment, and vehicles would amount to an estimated $800,000, and are included as part of the $2 million initial investment.

The contract requires a minimum franchise fee equal to 5.4 percent of gross receipts and a repair and maintenance reserve of 1 percent of gross revenues. The concessions operate May through October.

Acadia’s annual visitation of approximately 2.5 million during the most recent two years is up nearly 25 percent compared to 2005 and 2006, and about equal to the level of visitation a decade earlier. Approximately 60 percent of the park’s visitation occurs during the third quarter of the year.

Proposals for the Acadia concessions contract are due in the NPS Philadelphia office by November 20, 2012. A site visit is scheduled for August 14. A ten-month extension is anticipated for the existing ten-year contract that is scheduled to terminate in December 2012, so that the effective operation date under the new contract will be November 1, 2013.