Yosemite contractors bear brunt of government shutdown

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 27, 1995 by Paul King

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - The budget impasse between the Clinton administration and a Republican-dominated Congress ended, at least temporarily, Nov. 19, six days after it began. However, in its wake it disrupted the lives of more than 800,000 government workers left temporarily jobless by the shutdown of the federal government. It also touched the lives of thousands of support services personnel and even private citizens.

Consider, for example, the four couples who were scheduled to be married here Nov. 18 and 19, in America's largest national park. They found themselves scrambling for another wedding site when the National Park Service ordered the entire park closed as of 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17.

Or how about the 8,000 people who had reservations to spend this holiday week in one of the park's four hotels and lodges? Or the more than 1,500 diners who planned to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at the prestigious Ahwanhee Hotel restaurant? Or the 1,200 employees of Yosemite Concessions Services, the arm of Delaware North Park Services that operates 17 food and lodging facilities in the park?

"This is not a pebble in a stream, causing little ripples across the water," suggested Keith Walklet, Information Services manager for YCS, on the day of the shutdown. "This is like having a big rock thrown in."

Fortunately, the temporary agreement between Congress and the president, reached on the evening of Nov. 19, averted much of the disaster YCS expected. Guests calling YCS' main telephone number heard a taped message announcing that the park's four hotels and lodges would open Monday afternoon, Nov. 20, with limited foodservice Monday evening. Full concession operations resumed the following day.

Other foodservice contractors with national park accounts, such as Aramark and TW Services, also faced the painful decision to close operations and furlough employees last week. However, none would have been affected more than Delaware North Park Services, which has operated foodservice and lodging at Yosemite since 1993.

For example, three of TW Services' seven national park accounts - Bryce Canyon, North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone - already had closed for the season. Zion, Everglades and Scotty's Castle National Monument were closed by the Park Service last week. Mount Rushmore remained open through the shutdown period.

However, Thanksgiving week at Yosemite is perhaps the busiest nonsummer period of the year.

According to Walklet, YCS stood to lose $200,000 to $300,000 in food and lodging revenue for every day the park was closed. In addition, concessionaires outside the park also would have suffered. There normally isn't an empty hotel room for miles around Yosemite this time of year, filled with park visitors who couldn't get rooms in the park.

Walklet said the Park Service originally had planned to keep the park open by using a drastically pared-down complement of employees to maintain basic park functions. However, by Wednesday it was determined that the decision was unwise. The park was closed to day visitors at 6 a.m. Nov. 16, and the shutdown was completed by the following afternoon.

"We worked with the couples whose weddings were scheduled to find them other accommodations outside the park," Walklet pointed out.

Foodservice operations in other government agency buildings also were affected by the government's lack of a budget. Contractors like Aramark, Marriott Management Services, Guest Services and Compass USA that manage foodservice in government offices, such as the General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also laid off employees and closed or curtailed cafeteria operations for the duration of the shutdown.

For example, at a GSA office in Kansas City, the Marriott-managed cafeteria operated with a skeleton crew.

"We laid off 17 of our 23 employees," said manager Chris Jardis.

In this particular office the GSA staff was nearly decimated, with only about 500 of the regular complement of 4,000 employees still working. On Nov. 15, the day after the shutdown began, Jardis said, 400 customers passed through his cafeteria. On a typical day the customer count is 2,300.