After providing food services to the state ferry system for years, two local companies are being replaced by a national corporation that will take over ferry food operations this summer.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) officials say that the change in service will ensure that there will be fewer galley closures due to staffing issues.

Olympic Cascade Services, a Bremerton company, and Mukilteo-based CDX Dining Services, have operated the galleys of WSF vessels since the early 2000s. Olympic Cascade serves the majority of the system, including the San Juans and Bremerton-Seattle routes, while CDX provides food service on the Mukilteo-Clinton route and the triangle route between Vashon, Southworth and Fauntleroy. WSF announced last week that the two businesses will be replaced by Centerplate, a Connecticut-based hospitality and retail company that provides food for a number of major sports venues across the country, as well as the local Tacoma Dome and Safeco Field venues. Centerplate is expected to take over by mid-June, just in time for the busy tourism season.

The decision to go with Centerplate was made after a competitive bidding process among eight companies that occurred after the ferry system decided that it would like to have one company provide food system-wide in order to minimize closures due to boat shifting. Currently, if a boat that is serviced by one food vendor is moved to a route serviced by another food vendor, the vendor’s product, staff and cash register must be transferred as well. According to WSF’s alert system, boat galleys on the triangle route have been closed at least five times due to contractor staffing issues or vessel repositioning since January.

“There will be one vendor handling all of the routes, so there will be (fewer) closures,” WSF spokesman Ian Sterling said in an interview last week. “We will be able to keep the facilities open regardless of vessel moves. Overall, this is a good thing.”

Triangle route food provider CDX Dining Services President Michael Cho told The Beachcomber that his company elected not to bid for the contract.

“Our company did not make a bid because of this change in policy to a system-wide provider,” he said. “Our company is small and, given the competition, we didn’t have a good chance to win. It was beyond our resources, and there was no incentive to take the risk.”

CDX took over the triangle route in 2007 after WSF terminated Sound Food’s contract citing Sound Food did not meet contractual obligations.

While WSF has lauded this most recent change, Olympic Cascade officials said their company’s local union employees employed by the ferry system are now facing layoffs due to the loss of the WSF contract. Olympic Cascade spokeswoman Susan Meyers said that the company submitted a bid and “expressed full ability and interest” to operate all the runs.

“We were very surprised by what (WSF) did,” Meyers said. “They went with big business, which failed them 12 years ago. We’re not sure why (the ferry system) did that.”

WSF awarded Olympic Cascade the food services contract after France-based Sodexho dropped its contract January 2004, citing an inability to make enough profit. Boats were without galley service for 18 months and offered only Sodexho’s vending machines.

According to a WSF statement, Centerplate’s proposal states it will maintain consistent hours across the system, with additional service in the San Juan Islands; provide creative, fresh and healthful offerings, including local brands such as Hempler’s beef and ham, Uli’s sausage, Beecher’s cheese and Stimson Estate Cellars wine; and offer promotions and incentives, such as commuter-reward programs.

But, Meyers said that Centerplate’s proposal highlights aspects her company was already focusing on.

“We’ve been concerned with providing local food and healthier options and less closures,” she said.

Olympic Cascade has since filed a protest with the Thurston County Superior Court seeking to halt the award of the contract to Centerplate.

At WSF, Sterling confirmed the filing and said that part of the contract-awarding process involves a protest provision.

“This does happen from time to time and is usually resolved quickly,” Sterling said. “I don’t know that the court ordered a halt to the reward contract. I believe (halting) is something that we at WSF would do in this situation regardless.”

He continued to say that Centerplate works with many of local food companies and intends to “use existing galley workers whenever possible” when it takes over concessions.

Centerplate made headlines in February after an “employee” (a freelance journalist working undercover) who worked for the company during this year’s Superbowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara sued the company. According to Slate, the online magazine, the employee is alleging Centerplate did not pay employees for all hours worked, failed to grant rest breaks as required by California law and engaged in unfair business practices. The company was sued previously for similar allegations in 2011.

The Beachcomber’s calls to Centerplate were not returned.

According to the Kitsap Sun, Centerplate’s contract is for four years and WSF holds the option for six more. WSF has also raised its concession fees from 7-10 percent of monthly gross sales to 12 percent for food, nonalcoholic beverages and retail, and 14 percent for beer and wine, the Sun reports.