Food Vendor Sought for National Lakeshore’s Portage Lakefront Cafe

Date: January 17, 2018

The National Park Service at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is seeking one food service vendor to serve park visitors in the concessions area located at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Pavilion. There will be a minimum requirement that the vendor operates on Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day, but the selected vendor can choose to operate on additional days or for longer hours. In 2018, over 120,000 people visited the Portage Lakefront site, most of them during the summer months.

Federal regulations require any individuals or groups selling food or other items in a national park to obtain a Commercial Use Authorization permit. This permit will be issued specifically for that location for the 2018 calendar year. Completed applications for a permit must include a payment of $65 to cover the costs of processing the request, a proposed list of menu items with prices and are due no later than February 2, 2018. Selected vendor must pay a fee of 3% of their gross receipts minus the $65 application fee at the end of the season. Additionally, vendors selling food must comply with county and Federal health regulations and will have responsibilities in guest generated garbage cleanup.

We are also seeking food trucks or other self-contained food service vendors to serve park visitors at West Beach, Porter Beach and Kemil Beach throughout the 2018 beach season. The same Commercial Use Authorization process is used to operate through the season for a food truck services. 

All inquiries are welcome. Park staff will select food service vendors based on an applicants' ability to meet specific criteria and the desire to provide visitors with a wide variety of offerings. Please call Amber Siewin at 219-395-1859 or email us to find out more and to get an application.