A proposal by a local restaurant owner to provide concession services at ballparks in Drayton and Moorefield has been accepted by the municipality.
Public works director Larry Lynch advised council Terrance Rumph of the Moorefield Diner submitted the lone response to a request for proposals to operate food booths at the ballparks. Lynch said he is hoping the move clears up longstanding problems in providing concessions.
“While the expectations of the facility users has been a quality food selection with regular operating hours, the reality has been poor selection, varied hours of operation and limited payback as compared to the cost of staffing.
“For the most part our concession at the ballparks has been a ‘pop and chip’ type of menu and we have significantly reduced hours of operation to try and offset cost of student wages. When users cannot rely on getting coffee or food items from the booth they bring in their own coffee and do not patronize our limited selection. Groups have brought in their own barbecues and coolers to fundraise as opposed to utilizing concessions and quite often we have chosen to not even open the booths,” Lynch noted in an April 23 report to council.
Lynch reported Rumph will utilize part-time staff from his restaurant to operate the concessions in both communities. All the products will come from the restaurant and he intends to offer a full menu of burgers, fries, chicken fingers etc. He will also provide the township a fee of $100/month per location for the operating period of May through September. The township will provide the venue and utilities only.
“I think this is a win-win for the township and for the Rumph family and the Moorefield Diner,” stated Lynch.
