RFP- Alcohol Vendor River Market

This is a Request for Proposals ("RFP") to select an alcohol vendor for Tuscaloosa River Market. The RFP contains an abbreviated scope of work and evaluation items.

The Tuscaloosa River Market is located at 1900 Jack Warner Parkway, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. The River Market hosts approximately 170 private events annually with an average of 200 guests per event. Guest counts can range from 100 to 1,600 guests. Bar service must be able to accommodate the maximum guest count with bartenders, ID checkers, and bar equipment. Roughly 50% of events utilize bar service.

Scope of Services

The City desires to select a firm to provide services in the following general areas:

• Vendor will be responsible for supplying of all merchandise/inventories of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including specific client requests for sales.
• Vendor will be responsible for providing all staffing and training including adhering to the responsible vendor's program.
• Vendor will operate all bars at Tuscaloosa River Market for all events.
• Vendor will be responsible for working with River Market Manager to plan and set up bars/staffing where designated for each event.

Vendor must also meet the following requirements:

• Provide all necessary and relevant service equipment, including but not limited to bars, carts, serving dishes, utensils, cups/glasses, plates, napkins, cleaning cloths, cleaning products, etc.
• Large-quantity ice makers are provided. Larger events require bar service to provide additional ice.
• Take good care of the facility, and return the facility in as good a condition as when received.
• Bus/remove trash from bar / drink areas.
• Place trash from the service areas (pantries/bar area) in the provided carts or in another designated area as directed by the Facility Rep. Trash bags should be double-bagged when disposing of leftovers.
• Clean all vendor used service areas prior to leaving the facility, including but not limited to the pantries, bars, and bar areas.
• Remove all non-perishable materials that were brought in (bars, linens, vases, pitchers, etc.) immediately after the event. The City is not responsible for items left behind.
• Inform the Facility Rep of when they are finished with their clean-up so that a quality check may be performed prior to their departure.

The selected business will be required to have personnel on-site to complete the tasks required by this scope of services. The selected business will complete the required tasks in a timely and efficient manner.

Submission

Submit proposals via **email** to Alexis Clark, Tuscaloosa River Market Operations Manager at aclark@tuscaloosa.com. Proposals are due on or before **10:00 am CST, on Thursday, December 3, 2026**. Proposals received after this deadline will not be accepted.

Proposals are limited to five (5) pages in 12-point font or larger of either Times New Roman or Ariel. Front and back shall be considered 2 pages. All proposals should be submitted in 8 ½" x 11" paper size.

**Required** with the proposal: experience and qualifications, a price per drink listing, and acknowledgment that the vendor would be expected to pay **10% of sales** to the City of Tuscaloosa (10% of total beverage sales and service fees). Gratuities are not subject to the royalty.

License and insurance

The selected business will be required to purchase a special events retail alcohol license for the Tuscaloosa River Market. The Permittee agrees to, and shall at all times, maintain a minimum of **One Million Dollars ($1,000,000)** of both Dram Shop (Liquor Liability) insurance and General Liability insurance [...].

Contract term

Businesses must be prepared to begin work pursuant to this RFP by April 1, 2027. The selected firm will be expected to enter into a contract with the City of Tuscaloosa for a period of three (3) years.

The City reserves the right to reject any proposal and to interview a firm or multiple firms as it sees fit.