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WARREN -- Hospitality and food service provider AVI Foodsystems Inc. has secured a multiyear retail dining contract with the Ohio Turnpike Commission at two service plazas in Portage County.
The Warren-based company was selected among three to operate the food and retail concessions at Portage and Brady's Leap service plazas. Improvements to accommodate what the commission calls "new and innovative" dining concepts should be complete by late 2021.
The national brands include Ohio-based Wendy's, which will anchor the dining areas, Dunkin', Jersey Mike's Subs, Freshens Fresh Food Kitchen and Pike Plaza gift shop and retail store, which will offer a variety of portable food and retail selections to travelers.
Some of the improvements the new brands will incorporate are smartphone ordering apps and prepay ordering kiosks.
The agreement calls for the commission to receive 10 percent of the gross receipts -- 5 percent of food and retail concessions, 4 percent for property management and 1 percent for capital improvements.
The 10-year agreement also gives the commission 50 percent of the common area maintenance costs, including utilities and janitorial, and AVI has agreed to pay $550,000 for 2022 for both plazas if gross receipts do not exceed $5.5 million.
The commission can renew the agreement for up to five additional, five-year periods.
Brian Newbacher, commission spokesman, said this is AVI's first food and retail concession contract with the commission.
AVI, however, already operates food, beverage and laundry vending contracts at some services plazas as well as toll, maintenance and administration facilities.
In addition, AVI operates the commission's EZ Pass transponder vending program at all plazas, Newbacher said.
Other bidding companies were 7-Eleven, Inc. of Irvine, Texas, and Applegreen PLC of Andover, Mass. A team that evaluated the bids concluded AVI had the best proposal "in terms of branding, financial and operational capabilities" and the firm has "significant experience and expertise in operating food and retail concessions in the business, education, health care and leisure sectors," according to a resolution the commission OK'd in February.
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