PTAG Sources Sought: Seeking Large or Small Business vendor to provide USPTO with commercial Cafeteria Services at the main campus in Alexandria, VA.

Revised 8/28/25:  On account of the upcoming  holiday weekend, the due date for questions is now  9/3 @1:00 pm and the Deadline for responses is now 9/8 at 9:00 am ET

Revised 8/25/25: Changed to include both Large and Small business vendors.  Changed due date for questions to 8/27 @2pm and Deadline to 9/3 at 9am ET. 

This PTAG 6.1.1 Sources Sought (request for information) Notice (RFI)  is strictly for market research ONLY.  It is for informational and planning purposes and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government at this time.

PTAG

The Government intends utilizing the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A). This Sources sought notice is intended as preliminary market information gathering which the USPTO will use to determine which large or small business contractor(s) is/are the most likely to successfully meet the agency’s needs and are thereby eligible to participate in an alternative competition. As a result of this market research, the  solicitation will only be issued to those qualified contractor(s) that are deemed most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirement as stated below.

1. Purpose of Request for Information (RFI)

The purpose of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Request for Information (RFI) is to provide market research to  USPTO about both the Large and Small Business capabilities and offerings of food services and management companies currently available in the market. The RFI includes providing USPTO management with an understanding of the food services’ and management company’s experience, expertise in handling commercial cafeteria services, and the range of services provided. It also allows USPTO management to conduct thorough market research, identify suitable providers, and make informed decisions regarding food service needs.

1. Description of Services 

The food service program is crucial to the morale and welfare of USPTO’s workforce at its main campus headquarters in Alexandria, VA.

The USPTO would like to explore options for operating a food service program that enhances the quality of life for the USPTO workforce. This program requires experienced, professional food service management contractor that offers high quality, nutritious foods, which are attractively and courteously served in clean and comfortable surroundings. The contractor shall provide satisfying food portions at a reasonable client cost, convenient service schedules, positive public relations, and economically-sound operating practices.  

It is USPTO’s desire to provide food stations (see Section A), as an option for consideration. USPTO invites contractors to present creative solutions to meet the described food stations in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The contractor may also submit an additional optional creative solution for consideration. 

 Once established, the contract requires the contractor to take the initiative in instituting changes and identifying trends in corporate dining. USPTO requires the contractor to present timely, innovative ideas, and conduct routine surveys for the demands and opinions of the workforce population and engage in an active partnership with USPTO to bring about new and creative food programs.

1. Hours of Service:

            Service Schedule 

Cafeteria services will be provided five (5) days per week, Monday through Friday (except for holidays observed by the federal government), as follows:

Main Dining Facility (Roundhouse Café)

Period

Opening

Closing

Breakfast

6:30 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

AM Break (negotiable)

10:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

Lunch

11:00 a.m.

1:30 p.m.

PM Break (negotiable)

2:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

Coffee Shop (Roundhouse Coffee) hours are subject to the service program being offered. Times are negotiable.

Period

Opening

Closing

Breakfast/Breaks/Lunch/Desserts

7:00 a.m.

2:00 p.m.

The above hours are minimum hours to which the contractor must observe.  The AM and PM breaks are negotiable. Any changes to the above are subject to negotiations and final approval of the Contracting Officer.

1. Description of Facilities

1. Area and Location in the Buildings:

• Two food service operation areas will be part of this contract:

• Roundhouse Café: Full-service dining facility located in the Madison West Building on the concourse level
  • The main cafeteria is designed to offer a wide choice of foods and beverages for the USPTO staff, visitors, and is accessible to the public:
    1. Current major concepts: Deli, Pizza, Salad Bar, Grill, Weekly Specialty Station, Hot Entrees
    2. Kitchen: Approximately 4,300 square feet with direct access to loading dock
    3. Food Service Area: Approximately 7,200 square feet dining area
    4. Common area seating adjacent to dining area: 330 seats
    5. Outdoor patio terrace area

• Round House Coffee: Beverage bar located in the Madison Building Atrium
  • This beverage bar is located on the concourse lower atrium floor of the building, and is accessible by the public, USPTO staff, and visitors.
    1. Current concepts: Round House Coffee
    2. Approximately 200 square feet
    3. Seating: Common area seating in lower atrium (approximately 30 seats)

1. Background

The USPTO is the federal agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and is responsible for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. The USPTO advises the President of the United States, through the Secretary of Commerce, and U.S. government agencies on national and certain international intellectual property (IP) policy issues. USPTO staff consists of a wide range of engineers, scientists, attorneys, judges, information and technology (IT) and other support staff and contractors. Staff may work as early as 5:30 a.m. through well into the late evening hours.

The USPTO’s Roundhouse Café has been extremely active in the past and had a wide range of variety to meet the wide range of dietary and ethnic food options to the diverse culture of USPTO staff. Having the variety of food options and being competitively priced despite the brick-and-mortar food options surrounding the main campus was its success. In addition, due to the activity in the auditorium, there were and continue to be, many catering requests for luncheons, breakfast set ups, and holiday parties throughout the year. 

1. Scope of Work (abbreviated)  

The contractor will be responsible to ensure full execution of the terms of the contract between USPTO and the contractor. The following documents will constitute the full contractual agreement between USPTO and the contractor:

1. Contractor’s response to a Request for Quote (RFQ) that is accepted by USPTO and upon which a contract is awarded to the contractor. 
2. The RFQ used by USPTO will include the work statement and USPTO expectations related to the award of the contract; and,
3. Any amendments and documents issued by the Contracting Officer to the contractor.

This food service facility will be operated for the benefit of approximately 2,900 employees currently on campus each day, with a projected 4,100 employees by the end of 2025.  This does not include auditorium events, which may attract additional visitors and staff who are likely to use the cafeteria when events coincide with breakfast or lunch. The USPTO Conference Services team provides event schedules to the food service vendor management with expected attendance numbers.

Restaurants, amenities, and other competition in the area should be studied and evaluated by the prospective contractor.  The contractor’s proposed program should include a food service program to mitigate outside competition and maximize operational success of the contractor’s proposed food service program.  Innovation, creativity in culinary cuisine, flexibility, agility, and the desire to understand the unique and diverse culture that make up staff at USPTO in the program are the main elements of its success.

The USPTO shall not be held responsible for any variation or annotations regarding building and/or visitor population figures or any other assumptions noted herein.

1. Effective Date:

USPTO expects service will begin on or about November 1st, 2025

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Note:  The Government will not utilize formal evaluation criteria for market research associated with PTAG 6.1.1. The Government will review these sources sought responses to help determine which (if any) firms are most likely to successfully meet the agency’s requirements for Document Professional Services and Information Management System Support (DPPS)

In your email response please include in the subject:

ACQ-26-0109-USPTO CAFETERIA SERVICES

DEADLINE:

• Questions  regarding this sources sought notice are due no later than Wednesday, September 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM ET and are to be submitted  via email to Kendall.jones1@uspto.gov  and Christopher.ward@uspto.gov

• Responses are due no later than Monday, September 8, 2025 at 9:00 AM ET and are to be submitted via email to Kendall.jones1@uspto.gov   and Christopher.ward@uspto.gov

• NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

Responses should include:

• a capability statement (including other supporting info showing the ability to meet this requirement as requested below),
• the name of your firm,
• Whether or not your firm is a Large or Small Business
  • If a small business – please let us know any  Socio-Economic sub-category(ies) of your firm (if applicable)
• complete address, email and phone of the primary contact.
• Your SAM.gov UEI number (if available).
• Your firms GSA schedule contract number (if applicable)
• Note: you must be registered in the SAM.gov database prior to any award of a contract or agreement.

In response to this source sought notice, please provide enough detail to show:

• Past performance should include ten plus years of applicable cafeteria services at the federal, state, local, or private sector level. 
  • If your company does not have at least ten years of applicable past performance, please explain in detail why you believe your company should be considered.

All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

This PTAG 6.1.1 Sources Sought Notice is strictly for market research ONLY.

It is for informational and planning purposes and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government at this time.

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