Amtrak's commissaries

[Palmetto]

Some questions:

1- Where does Amtrak have commissaries to stock its food service cars?

2- Does one single company provide service to the commissaries? I am not counting the Downeaster, which has its own.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Some questions:

1- Where does Amtrak have commissaries to stock its food service cars?

2- Does one single company provide service to the commissaries? I am not counting the Downeaster, which has its own.

Aramark supplies the food and drink to Amtrak.
( not sure if the switch from Pepsi to Coke was a separate Contract?)

As far as I know, 12 Commissaries are located in the following Cities:
New York (2),Boston,Washington(2), Miami,
Sanford,New Orleans Chicago,LA ,Oakland ,Seattle

 

[TrackWalker]

from 2012-

http://sp.rail.transportation.org/S...d Beverage Presentation - SCORT Feb 2013.pdf
My favorite quote- "Human. Not cargo."

 

[MrMattyMatt]

If only it was still Fred Harvey - am I right?

 

[zephyr17]

from 2012-

http://sp.rail.transportation.org/S...d Beverage Presentation - SCORT Feb 2013.pdf
My favorite quote- "Human. Not cargo."

Kind of scary that they not only said that, but felt the need to highlight it with quotation marks and italics.

 

[Willbridge]

Aramark supplies the food and drink to Amtrak.
( not sure if the switch from Pepsi to Coke was a separate Contract?)

As far as I know, 12 Commissaries are located in the following Cities:
New York (2),Boston,Washington(2), Miami,
Sanford,New Orleans Chicago,LA ,Oakland ,Seattle

These locations are worth remembering when people discuss new routes. It's an added expense if trains aren't cycling through one of these cities. Of course there are isolated trains like the Heartland Flyer or the Winter Park Express but their food service is limited.

 

[Triley]

Aramark supplies the food and drink to Amtrak.
( not sure if the switch from Pepsi to Coke was a separate Contract?)

As far as I know, 12 Commissaries are located in the following Cities:
New York (2),Boston,Washington(2), Miami,
Sanford,New Orleans Chicago,LA ,Oakland ,Seattle

Chicago also has 2. Portland, OR has 1. Fort Worth may have one? (It's also Amtrak's smallest OBS crew base!)

 

[Triley]

These locations are worth remembering when people discuss new routes. It's an added expense if trains aren't cycling through one of these cities. Of course there are isolated trains like the Heartland Flyer or the Winter Park Express but their food service is limited.

This is indeed something that folks need to keep in mind, but generally done.

As a note, with Winter Park Express having such limited service, they are easily able to transport supplies from LAX on the Zephyr. If they wanted to offer a more "complex" menu, including items that needed refrigeration, this would not be easily possible.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Chicago also has 2. Portland, OR has 1. Fort Worth may have one? (It's also Amtrak's smallest OBS crew base!)

Thanks Triley, I didnt find Portland or Chicago's 2nd one.

And I guess the Heartland Flyer is stocked in Ft. Worth if there is one there, perhaps the Texas Eagles may be able to get some items too if so?

 

[MARC Rider]

If only it was still Fred Harvey - am I right?

Oh, I don't know. I ate in a Harvey House restaurant in Chicago in 1968, and while I don't remember much about it after 53 years, I do remember that it was pretty bad.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Oh, I don't know. I ate in a Harvey House restaurant in Chicago in 1968, and while I don't remember much about it after 53 years, I do remember that it was pretty bad.

It probably wasnt a "Real" Harvey House.

Union Station in KC has one like that, where some of us ate Lunch on our Amtrak outing during the St Louis Gathering.( but there did used to be a Real Harvey House there where the Fsncy Steakhouse is now located)

 

[Triley]

Thanks Triley, I didnt find Portland or Chicago's 2nd one.

And I guess the Heartland Flyer is stocked in Ft. Worth if there is one there, perhaps the Texas Eagles may be able to get some items too if so?

No problem. Portland's is to the right of the baggage counter, buried in a few small offices, where the APD office is. Chicago has the main commissary in the yards, and a satellite commissary buried in the bowels of the station. If you ever are in CHI and see an LSA walking down the ramp to go underneath the station, that's probably where they're headed.

I'm honestly not sure about Fort Worth. I would presume there would be a little one for them. However, given the hours that the Heartland Flyer runs, I would be surprised to see if they have anybody on-site in the middle of the night, just on the whim that the Eagle may need something. It's sort of the same thing with us on the Cascades in Portland. The commissary exists, but we only use it in cases of emergencies. In other words, we try to stock everything from Seattle, and ignore the Portland commissary. Its small size and only having two people tht alternate working ~6 hours a day wouldn't be able to handle the additional orders.

 

[Bob Dylan]

No problem. Portland's is to the right of the baggage counter, buried in a few small offices, where the APD office is. Chicago has the main commissary in the yards, and a satellite commissary buried in the bowels of the station. If you ever are in CHI and see an LSA walking down the ramp to go underneath the station, that's probably where they're headed.

I'm honestly not sure about Fort Worth. I would presume there would be a little one for them. However, given the hours that the Heartland Flyer runs, I would be surprised to see if they have anybody on-site in the middle of the night, just on the whim that the Eagle may need something. It's sort of the same thing with us on the Cascades in Portland. The commissary exists, but we only use it in cases of emergencies. In other words, we try to stock everything from Seattle, and ignore the Portland commissary. Its small size and only having two people tht alternate working ~6 hours a day wouldn't be able to handle the additional orders.

Appreciate the info on Chicago and Portland.

As for the Heartland Flyer, it's a Day Train between OKC and FTW,Leaves OKC @ 825AMAM/ Arrives around 1215pm into FTW.

The return is around 530pm from FTW to OKC,Arrives 925pm,where it spends the night.

Since the HF only has a Cafe located downstairs in a Coach/Cafe Car, I would think they are Stocked in FTW if theres a Commisary there, but that's a guess on my part!

 

[SubwayNut]

I remember when I took the Texas Eagle back in 2012 I had a very young Sleeping Car attendant and I overheard probably an LSA tell him that if he needed any items like sheets or towels he could get them in FTW, I assume from the commissary.

I road the Heartland Flyer on that same trip and remember a unique cafe car menu with much cheaper prices than the National or Northeast Regional Menu. The staff on that round-trip was great! (spent the night in Norman, took a transit express bus up to Oklahoma City the next morning so I could ride the entire route).