Delaware North Companies, Centerplate, Guest Services, Inc., AVI Food Systems, Inc.

4 Delaware North Companies

BUFFALO
www.delawarenorth.com

SALES VOL.	2008: $2,200
	2007: $2,003
CONTRACTS	2008: 200+
	2007: 132
SEGMENTS SERVED: Stadiums/Arenas (32%), Parks/Recreation (18%), Airports (14%), Other (36%)

Delaware North operates in a number of travel and leisure segments, most prominently in sports stadiums and arenas through its SportService unit, and in national/state parks, resorts and airports. It also operates racetracks and owns both the Boston Bruins NHL team and the TD Garden arena in which they (and the NBA's Boston Celtics) play. Part of the revenue listed above was derived overseas, primarily in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The company continues to upgrade the menu offerings at its various units in the recreation and travel segments, most recently concluding a national distribution deal with fresh produce distribution network Pro-Act to supply its operations across the U.S. It also signed an agreement with the State of New York to build and run a casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

Among the individual operating units, Travel Hospitality Services plans to open a branded Pink's Hot Dogs location at Los Angeles World Airport later this year, the first Pink's at an airport and one of only a handful outside of the famed operator's traditional Hollywood location.

Travel Hospitality Services also debuted the first Heineken branded luxury airport bar in the U.S., at Newark Liberty International Airport, and the first branded airport Sports Illustrated retail store, at the Detroit Metro Airport. It is also partnering with uWink to implement the latter's self-order technology at the Chili's Too Margarita Bar at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Sportservice unit won a contract to provide concessions and premium dining services at the new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, the new home of Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. It will also open two major new facilities next year: Target Field in Minneapolis and Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey.

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5 Centerplate

STAMFORD, CT
www.centerplate.com

SALES VOL.	2008: $793.0
	2007: $740.7
CONTRACTS	2008: 130+
	2007: 131
SEGMENTS SERVED: Stadiums/Arenas (70%), Convention/Conference Centers (23%), Parks/Recreation (5%), College/University (2%)

Centerplate was acquired by private equity firm Kohlbeg & Co. in a deal completed early this year. It also appointed a new CEO, Desmond Hague, former president of IHOP and of Safeway Foodservice and former CEO of Hot Stuff Foods.

Among recent operational initiatives, Centerplate launched its Innovation Labs project, which is designed to develop and disseminate service and efficiency solutions for its operating venues, and inked alliances with celebrity chef Philippe Chin to oversee culinary operations at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and with Admiral Capital Group.

In the past year it also introduced the Loft Menu, a discounted a la carte menu for suite holders at the Arizona Cardinals Univeristy of Phoenix Stadium, which won Best New Idea accolades from the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD).

Centerplate has also expanded its presence in the higher education segment, where it now boasts 18 accounts after adding the University of Kansas, the University of Alabama and the University of Louisville. It also expanded its operations at the University of Hawaii to include campus dining, a relatively new area for a company that specializes in concessions. Its current client list includes 11 NFL teams and four MLB teams (plus four spring training sites) as well as dozens of arenas, convention centers, minor league ballparks, racetracks, amphitheaters and other sports/entertainment venues.

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6 Guest Services, Inc.

FAIRFAX, VA
www.guestservices.com

SALES VOL.	2008: $334
	2007: $320
CONTRACTS	2008: 106
	2007: 103
SEGMENTS SERVED: Government (45%), B&I (30%), Parks/Recreation Centers (10%), Other (15%)

Originally founded 90 years ago to provide government facilities in Washington with foodservices, Guest Services today operates in multiple segments including corporate dining facilities, full-service hotels and resorts, conference centers, museum restaurants, schools, universities and senior living centers. Guest Services manages cafés in public institutions like the National Gallery and the Holocaust Museum, operates retail outlets in public spaces like the National Mall, the National Aquarium and the Interior Dept. and manages recreational facilities in public parks like Canaan Valley Resort, Mount Rainier and Big Sur Lodge.

Public clients include the State, Energy and Housing/Urban Development Departments; the FBI; Bethesda Naval Hospital and the West Virginia State Capitol complex. Guest Services also has private B&I clients like Raytheon, Honeywell, Provident Bank and the Washington Times as well as several schools and universities. It gets about half of its revenues from dining, retail, catering and concessions operations; its Lancaster Foods subsidiary, which wholesales fresh produce and flowers, accounts for much of the rest.

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7 AVI Food Systems, Inc.

WARREN, OH
www.avifoodsystems.com

SALES VOL.	2008: $320(e)
	2007: $400(e)
CONTRACTS	2008: n/a
	2007: n/a
SEGMENTS SERVED: College/University, B&I, Healthcare

Privately held AVI is one of the nation's largest vending and office coffee services providers. Recently, it has been concentrating on building its manual foodservice business, where it has signed major contracts in the college, healthcare and B&I segments. FM estimates that manual foodservice now accounts for up to 20% of AVI's volume.

College contracts include Kenyon College, Mount Union College, Hiram College and Slippery Rock University while the Cleveland Clinic is the company's major healthcare account. In B&I, AVI has long had a significant presence because of its core vending business. Like many companies in the vending business, AVI has seen reduced revenues because of the recession but this area remains the bulk of the business.

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