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Business and industry feeders tackle the risks and real-estate realities of operating under the aegis of mult;ole corporate entities.
he cafeteria in the basement of the Cullen Center in downtown Houston appears to be a typical Aramark-managed operation. A food-court-style concept, the dining facility features a mix of national brands, local logos and the proprietary concepts of Philadelphia-based Aramark. But the setting for this cafeteria - an office complex of five buildings, including a 40-story high-rise - is anything but typical for contract foodservice. Although Cullen Center houses 20 different tenants, Aramark's contract isn't with any of them.
Instead, Aramark's client is the owner of the office complex, Cullen Center Ventures, which uses the cafeteria as a selling point for attracting tenants.
This is the world of multitenant-foodservice management. For a number of reasons it is a world not often vis ited by contractors. But with its unique challenges come new opportunities for foodservice companies willing to take the risks inherent in managing such operations. Multitenant foodservice, a concept explored slightly during the real-estate building boom of the mid-1980s, is getting a fresh start as corporations rethink the economics of their locations. In some cases, as companies downsize, they have begun to look for smaller spaces in which to operate. However, even well off corporations are reassessing their lease arrangements and are willing to move if they can get a sweet deal from another building's owner or management firm.
Often that deal includes amenities, such as on-site foodservice facilities.
There are two types of multitenant foodservice. The first is the type of arrangement Aramark has at Cullen Center. In that model the client is either the property owner or the landlord. Foodservice facilities are open to all building tenants and often the public. In the other type of arrangement, the client is a major building tenant who decides to open the foodservice operation to one or more other tenants. In addition to Cullen Center, examples of the first scenario include foodservice operations at the following locations: the State of Illinois Center in Chicago, run by Marriott; the Met Life Building in New York City, operated by Restaurant Associates; Carnegie Center in Prince ton, NJ., and the Crystal Food Court in Crystal City, Va., both...