Basic information for Candidates interested in submitting an Expression of Interest 

The tenants of the office building 'EU House' comprise of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, the office of the EU Special Representative in BiH and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, collectively hereinafter referred to as the Joint Tenants.

The Joint Tenants invite Offers for the provision of:

1. cafeteria services (Hereinafter LOT 1) within the building and for the occupants of the offices and their guests [hereinafter referred to as the Customers].
2. café services (hereinafter LOT 2) with typical servicing of coffee and tea, soft drinks and light meals such as snacks, salads and pastry during breakfast hours (8.30-10.30hrs).

On behalf of the Joint Tenants, the EUSR Finance and Administration will administer the request for offers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Contract shall be awarded for only one of the two LOTs described in this Call for Expression of Interest.

Main obligations of the Contractor

The Contractor shall provide:

LOT 1:

• The Contractor shall provide cafeteria and catering services to the Customers to a high standard and at a pricing structure which is highly competitive to the local market for working lunches, coffees etc. The Joint Tenants may also request the Contractor to provide cafeteria services and catering for special events held within the building.

LOT 2:

• The Contractor shall provide catering and café services to the Customers with option to offer snacks and sandwiches, to a high standard and at a pricing structure which is highly competitive to the local market. The Joint Tenants may also request the Contractor to provide café services and catering for special events held within the building.

The Contractor shall commit to ensuring that their service responds to and meets the reasonable needs and expectations of the Customers. Staff satisfaction is a key condition for granting of the right to operate in premises of Joint Tenants.

The Contractor shall suitably equip the café area and the kitchen/pantry with the necessary appliances, furniture, cutlery and crockery etc. required for the purposes of the service.

Main obligations of the Joint Tenants

The Joint Tenants shall provide the Contractor with access to its café area and with the right to operate the café on a commercial basis whilst within the terms of the Agreement. The Service Agreement will provide exclusive rights to operate the café, but does not provide exclusivity of other catering supply to the offices and catering for special events held within the building.

The café space, the utilities of electricity, water and garbage, gas, and heating/air-­con, shall be provided by the Joint Tenants without charge to the Contractor.

Two telephone points in the café area may be made available if requested by the contractor for which the Contractor will be charged for the cost of calls made.

Service Agreement

The Joint Tenants and selected Contractor shall jointly enter into to a Service Agreement. This is a non-remunerative agreement outlining the terms and conditions applying.

LOT 1:

The Joint Tenants and selected Contractor shall jointly enter into to a Service Agreement. This is a non-remunerative agreement outlining the terms and conditions applying. The Service Agreement will be signed for 1 year and renewable pending satisfactory performance for a maximum of 5 further years. The envisaged Agreement start date is 1 February 2025.

LOT 2:

The Joint Tenants and selected Contractor shall jointly enter into to a Service Agreement. This is a non-remunerative agreement outlining the terms and conditions applying. The Service Agreement will be signed for 1 year and renewable pending satisfactory performance for a maximum of 5 further years. The envisaged Agreement start date is 1 February 2025.

Description of the cafeteria space available

The 'EU House' building is located at Skenderija 3a and 3 b, 71000 Sarajevo.

The building is constructed to include on the ground floor a common area for the use of the building tenants and their guests. Of this area approximately 100m² is made available for the cafeteria. The area is non-smoking, but opens to an outside terrace of approx. 140m² where smoking is permitted. Attached to the common area are toilet facilities and a separate kitchen and pantry of approximately 40m². 

The ground floor is accessible through the EU security. It is not open to uninvited public. EU security regulations will apply at all times. Without prejudice to the regulations the Contractor staff will be provided with access rights to the ground floor during normal working hours.

Scope of Cafeteria and Catering Services required

The service provided must be an all-inclusive service.

The Contractor will execute under its sole responsibility and liability, all activities which are required to provide a high standard of service, correctly and legally operated to the applicable food, health and safety standards. 

LOT 1:

Three types of services are to be available:

1) Full Cafeteria/Canteen services for the private use of the Customers;

2) Full Cafeteria/Canteen services for official meetings/events;

3) Provision of catering services for official events.

LOT 2:

Three types of services are to be available:

1) Café services for the private use of the Customers [hot and cold beverages, snacks and sandwiches];

2) Café services for official meetings/events [hot and cold beverages snacks and sandwiches];

3) Provision of catering services for official events.

Standards of service

The Contractor is responsible for a high standard of service delivery.

Personnel serving at the counter shall all be sufficiently fluent in English language for the purposes of understanding and responding to the requests of staff. Personnel are required to conduct business in a courteous and professional manner. Personnel must be professional and shall wear a tidy uniform identifying them as employees of the Contractor. All personnel working under this Service Agreement will be adequately trained as prescribed by the local legislation. They shall be of good health, physically able and shall be free of any communicable disease, and shall have a clean police record. The selected Contractor will be required to provide confirming documentation prior to the award of Agreement including medical certificates and sanitary inspection certificates issued by the relevant public health institutions. 

Maintaining standards of food/beverage provision and service

The Contractor shall note that the cafeteria and its appeal to the staff is an integral part of the Joint Tenants intent to provide an excellent office working environment. The Contractor is responsible to ensure that the cafeteria is managed with a view to satisfying the tastes and nutritional needs of the Customers as determined by these terms of reference and subsequently and additionally by feedback from the staff. The Contractor shall maintain a service culture of 'continuous improvement' and responsiveness to the reasonable demands of the customer. 

Working Hours

LOT 1:

The Contractor will provide services from 08.00 to 17.00 hrs, Monday to Thursday, and on Fridays to 14.00 hrs. Typically, breakfast services should be available from 8.30 – 10.30 hrs and lunch services should be available 12:00 - 14:30 hrs. 

LOT 2:

The Contractor will provide services from 08.00 to 17.00hrs, Monday to Thursday, and on Fridays to 14.00hrs.

The Contractor may only close on official days when the operations of the Joint Tenants are themselves suspended.

Equipment and furniture

The space is made available to the Contractor unfurnished and unequipped.

The Contractor is responsible for equipping the cafeteria and kitchen to fully meet the regulations pertaining to the provision of catering services.

Preparation and installation of equipment shall be made by the Contractor. No compensation will be paid by the Joint Tenants for any installations, or improvements, made by the Contractor. Upon termination of the Service Agreement, the Contractor is to repair modifications/damages incurred during occupancy. The Joint Tenants shall have the right of admission and of the inspection of the kitchen/pantry area at all times.

The Contractor is responsible for equipping the cafeteria dining area and the external terrace area with tables, chairs and other furniture required for the effective functioning of the cafeteria and the provision of a suitable ambient environment for the cafeteria customers to enjoy. The standards of the furniture shall be in keeping with their use and with the office environment needing to be suitably presentable as hosting diplomatic missions. The equipment to be provided includes all crockery and cutlery etc, presentation/serving tables (‘bain marie’ etc. as necessary, depending on possible assortment of food to be offered). 

The Contractor may not use on-site the facility for the purposes outside of the scope of the Agreement with the Joint Tenants.

Invoicing

Food and beverages served to customers at their request shall be charged directly to the customer. The Joint Tenants shall not be liable for any charges relating to the provision of such services. The Contractor shall use the statutorily required cash register for issuing of payment receipts and shall adhere to the financial regulations/taxes etc. applicable to it under the prevailing laws.

For food and beverages ordered by authorized representatives of the Joint Tenants, the Contractor will submit to the relevant 'joint tenant' a monthly invoice. The invoice must be supported by relevant evidential documentation including signature of the authorized representative etc.

Legal, Regulatory and Insurance requirements

The Contractor must fully satisfy all the regulatory requirements prevailing and required to conduct a cafeteria and catering business. The Contractor is obliged to comply with all local legislation including, but not limited to, health regulations and the payment of social contributions for all of its employees. All employees, including temporary employees, must be adequately insured, and the Contractor must provide proof of all payments/registrations on request of the Joint Tenants. The Contractor shall have the necessary insurance coverage in respect of injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the services they provide. The Contractor will insure and register his employees in compliance with provisions of local legislation.

How to apply

The interested candidates can apply thru two stages process.

The stage one is a submission of an Expression of Interest (please see details below). The stage one is open to all interested candidates.

The stage two is submission of an offer. The complete Terms of Reference and details on how to submit an offer will be provided to short listed candidates only.

How to submit an Expression of interest

Candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria may submit an Expression of Interest using the format in Annex 1. Expressions of interest should be submitted by 2 December 2024, 15.00 hours.

Should you wish to apply for both LOTs please submit two separate forms, one for each LOT.

The Expression of Interest together with supporting documents can be sent to the following email address: [email protected] 

An evaluation committee comprising of representatives of the Joint Tenants will review the received expressions of interest. Only those Candidates considered eligible by the committee and based upon the documentation submitted will then be invited to submit an offer to provide the services.

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Documents for Expression of Interest can be found here.