News Release

Retail, food and beverage concessioner selected for Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island

Date: December 19, 2023
Contact: Jerry Willis

Liberty and Ellis Islands, N.Y./N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Evelyn Hill Inc. to provide retail, food and beverage, and associated services to Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. Evelyn Hill Inc. has held the current concession contract since 2008. The new contract has a twelve-year term and will begin on May 1, 2024.

“Food and beverage and retail shops are essential to our island operations and contribute to a positive visitor experience,” said John Piltzecker, Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island superintendent. "Evelyn Hill Inc. has ties to the monument going back generations and has served tens of millions of visitors with the elevated level of hospitality demanded at these iconic locations.” 

Evelyn Hill Inc. is a family-owned company with a portfolio that, in addition to Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, includes operations at Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Maryland.

The National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 prescribes the contract solicitation process that dictates concession contracts be subject to fair and open competition without preferential right of renewal for the incumbent. Bids are evaluated and awarded through a competitive process.

In 2022, 3.1 million park visitors spent an estimated $207 million in local gateway regions while visiting Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. These expenditures supported a total of 2,250 jobs, $124 million in labor income, $201 million in value-added, and $304 million in economic output in local economies. 
 

-NPS-