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Committee backs Murata’s Cafe Hana lease for Japanese Tea Garden amid RFP questions over $500,000 capital plan
Summary
The committee voted to forward Recreation & Park’s recommendation to award the Japanese Tea Garden concession to Murata’s Cafe Hana, while the budget analyst flagged that a $500,000 capital‑improvement figure in the winning proposal was not written as a binding RFP requirement and raised process questions.
The Budget & Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to forward to the full Board the Recreation & Park Department’s recommendation awarding the Japanese Tea Garden concessions to Murata’s Cafe Hana (Carol Murata). Rec & Park staff and its selection panel recommended the proposal because it scored highest on the department’s evaluation, which emphasized cultural sensitivity and capital improvements.
Tom Hart, Recreation & Park property manager, described an RFP process that solicited vendor management and capital‑improvement plans and said the Cafe Hana proposal included an estimated $500,000 in capital work intended to restore and improve the Garden’s concessions. "The Japanese Tea Garden is a San Francisco icon," Hart said, arguing the selected bid would better reflect the garden’s cultural and historic character.
Budget‑office scrutiny: Harvey Rose, the budget analyst, told the committee he "found no documentation whatsoever" in the RFP that capital improvements were a mandatory numeric requirement akin to airport lease minima, and said the $500,000 was included in the evaluation scoring. Rose observed that if the $500,000 were excluded, other bidders might have presented higher minimum annual guarantees. Rec & Park staff responded that the RFP required bidders to include descriptions and cost estimates in their management/business plans and that four of the top five respondents supplied dollar estimates for capital improvements.
Community views: The committee heard extensive public comment from Japantown leaders and community groups urging approval, citing cultural preservation and the vendor’s long standing community ties. Speakers included representatives of the Japantown Merchants Association, Japantown Task Force and San Francisco Japantown Foundation.
Process and oversight: Supervisors pressed Rec & Park on why the concession had been on month‑to‑month agreements for years and sought clarity over the RFP language and post‑award clarifications. Rec & Park said staff convened a selection panel, held a pre‑submittal meeting, issued amendments to all respondents, and sought clarifying letters after panel scoring; the department committed to annual reporting on the implementation of capital improvements during the initial term.
Committee action: After debate the committee voted to send the concession resolution to the full Board with recommendation. The budget analyst labeled the matter a policy issue for the Board because of the procurement and evaluation questions raised.
