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Wausau committee directs staff to seek short-term vendors, food-truck pop-ups for RiverLife concession stand
Summary
City staff outlined options for the RiverLife concession stand on June 2, and the Parks and Recreation Committee gave direction to pursue short-term vendor outreach and limited food-truck pop-ups for summer 2025 while preparing a formal RFP for 2026.
The City of Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday discussed options for the RiverLife concession stand and directed staff to pursue short-term vendor outreach and occasional food-truck events this summer while preparing a longer RFP for 2026.
Jamie, a Parks and Recreation staff member, told the committee that staff had considered running the stand themselves, soliciting short-term proposals, hosting pop-up food trucks, or installing a vending unit. "One of the options of us running it is still possibly an option, but... we still need to hire more staff," Jamie said, adding that a used ice-cream vending machine would cost about $3,000 and a new unit about $8,000 and that vending companies said they would not restock because of distance.
The committee heard that responses from members were split between doing nothing for 2025 and issuing a short-term RFP. Jamie summarized the situation: "It's 2 and 2. That's why I decided to put it back on... I didn't hear from the fifth one, so I guess you're the tie breaker." The consensus direction was for staff to reach out to the four people who inquired, schedule a few food-truck pop-ups, and draft a short-term RFP for the remainder of 2025 while preparing a full RFP for 2026.
Alderman Rasmussen said the stand need not be a full-service operation immediately and suggested starting with "packaged snacks, drinks, soda, water, similar to the offerings that we have, at the pools." Committee members also favored low-barrier pop-up events rather than committing staff to a daily schedule.
Jamie said staff will contact interested vendors, attempt to schedule a few food-truck days this summer, and report back if outreach fails or if staffing issues prevent short-term activity. No formal motion or vote was taken on concessions; the committee provided direction to staff.
The committee plans a formal RFP for 2026 and will revisit vendor proposals when that process begins.
