Koerner’s Pub is up for grabs
“The target is to have the Pub and Catering services operational by 26 October 2012.”

So says the Request For Proposals ^[1] (RFP) the GSS has created for Koerner’s Pub. An RFP is a document in which the GSS says that they have a need for goods or services. The GSS describes the goods or services they need, and interested parties can bid to provide those goods or services to the GSS.

In this case, the GSS needs an outside firm to operate Koerner’s pub and the GSS catering department, both of which were shuttered in the summer of 2011. There’s nothing much surprising in the RFP. The GSS is looking for an experienced operator to come in for an initial period of 5 years. What the GSS will get out of this is having the albatross of Koerner’s Pub dealt with, and in the rosiest of scenarios, open again and serving grad students. In monetary terms, the GSS is looking for minimum monthly payment, or a percentage of gross sales, both figures to be determined in the bidding process.

One thing that many operators may take issue with is that the pub workers will still have to belong to CUPE116 and be paid union wages. The lowest starting wage ^[2] for a Koerner’s employee is $11.48/hr and goes up to $15+/hr with higher authority and experience. But the GSS will let potential operators work fairly freely otherwise and in theory, the GSS promises to stay out of their hair.

The deadline for proposals is August 24, and the GSS hopes to select a winning proposal in September, and have the pub open again in October.