This is a combined synopsis solicitation for the Smyrna Dining Facility, VTS Training Site for the Tennessee National Guard prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 13 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Sources Sought was previously posted under W912L7-26-Q-0004. Proposals are being solicited and this is the written solicitation. Solicitation number W912L7-25-R-A007 is hereby issued as a Request for Proposal. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-06 effective 01 NOV 2025. This requirement is being advertised Small Business Set-Aside and the North American size standard is $47M Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 722310 Food Service Workers . All responsible sources may submit an offer, which will be considered by this Agency. This award is subject to the Service Contract Act 2015-4647 V28, https://sam.gov/ The location for the event is Smyrna, TN. Proposals are due in this office no later than 29 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am (CST) local central daylight time. A Site Visit will be on 9 DEC 2025 at 9:00am CST Please fill out the Sign In Roster and send it to
[email protected] Email Proposal to
[email protected] Point of Contact (POC) referencing this solicitation is Rhonda Lien at 615-313-0530. Questions must be submitted no later than (NLT ) 15 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am CST (NO PHONE CALLS) . Any questions that are submitted after the 15 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am CST deadline may be provided to the contract awardee only . All information and requirements are listed in the Performance Work Statement. Offeror must be certified in https://sam.gov/ This will be a determining factor in the award process if the offeror is not current in their certification. THIS SOLICIATION WILL CLOSE ON 29 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am (CST) Please see attached PWS for details. FAR 52.212-1 Addendum INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. This Request for Proposal (RFP) is being issued in accordance with (IAW) FAR 12 and 13 procedures. The Offeror’s Proposal shall be submitted as outlined below. This will be Small Business set-aside acquisition . It is open to all Small businesses that meet the size standard of $47M as stated in NAICS 722310 Food Service Contractors . A single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract is contemplated to be awarded based on a competition between Small Businesses where the Offeror’s Proposal demonstrates the best value to the Government. Offeror shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of the company’s capability and experience. The basis of the Government’s evaluation is the information offerors present in their Proposal. Wage Determinations - Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) are applicable to this acquisition. Offeror shall use the attached Wage Determination WD 2015-4647 (Rev.-28) which was first posted on www.wdol.gov on 06/03/2025 for the location identified in the PWS. All Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall reflect the use of current, updated fringe benefit rates. The Offeror’s wage rate shall comply with the Department of Labor (DOL) wage rate minimum requirements for the labor category and Wage Determination provided. Travel charges are not authorized. Notice to the Offerors: Funds are not presently available for this acquisition. No contract award will be made until appropriated funds are made available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this RFP, either before or after the closing date for receipt of Proposals. In the event the Government cancels this RFP, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an Offeror for any costs. GENERAL INFORMATION The Offeror’s Email Proposal shall consist of two (2) volumes. The Volumes are: Volume I – Technical/Past Performance and Volume II – Price . Files shall not contain any classified data. The use of hyperlinks in Proposals is prohibited. An Offeror's failure to provide in its Proposal the information specified below may result in that Proposal not being considered by the Government for award. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall represent the Offeror's best technical and price Proposal. All supporting data required for development of the Proposal shall be included or summarized in each Proposal within the stated page limitations. Mere statements that the Offeror understands the requirements and can or will comply with the requirements without supporting information are not acceptable and may be reason for determining a Proposal to be unacceptable. Offerors are required to extend the validity of Proposals for at least 120 calendar days from the due date of offers. 2.1.1. Submittal of Solicitation Questions Communications and questions concerning this solicitation or requests for clarification shall be made in writing via email to the Contract Specialist, Rhonda Lien at
[email protected] and the Contracting Officer, Teresa Baxter at
[email protected]. The due date for communications and questions will be 15 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am CST . As soon as an Offeror is aware of any problems or ambiguities in interpreting the specifications, terms or conditions, instructions or evaluation criteria of this solicitation, the Offeror should promptly notify the Contracting Officer. It is preferred that only one set of questions be submitted by each Offeror instead of multiple sets of questions. When submitting questions and comments, please refer to the specific text of the RFP in the following format: Reference: RFP Section , Paragraph(s), Page(s) (filled in by contractor) The Government is not obligated to provide responses to all questions submitted by Offerors, but will consider the responses, consolidate them, and submit responses onto the GPE Solicitation Posting location (www.sam.gov ). 2.1.2. Communications The Government intends to evaluate Proposals and award a task order without further communicating with the Offerors. Consequently, Offerors are highly encouraged to Proposal their best technical and pricing Proposals in their initial submissions. However, the Government reserves the right to communicate with any or all Offerors submitting a Proposal, if it is determined advantageous to the Government to do so. The Government need not enter into communications or clarifications with all Offerors. An Offeror may be eliminated from consideration without further communication if its technical and/or pricing Proposals are not among those Offerors considered most advantageous to the Government based on a best value determination. If the Government enters into further communication, it will be with those Offerors considered to be within the Competitive Range. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Each volume shall be submitted via email in a separate file. Any pages that are changed (as a result of negotiations or Proposal revisions) should be of a different color and have changed information clearly marked by a vertical line in the right margin of the page. The revised pages shall be dated. Each file shall be clearly labeled with its title. Printing should be single spaced. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. A standard, 12-point minimum font size applies. Arial or New Times Roman fonts are required. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size no less than 8-point and may be landscape. The following volumes of material shall be submitted: VOLUME LIMITATIONS VOLUME I Technical Approach (Factor 1)/Past Performance (Factor 2) 30 pages per Factor 1 and 15 pages for Factor 2 VOLUME II Price (Factor 3) No page limit NOTE: Pages that exceed the required page limitations will not be evaluated. Additional pages over the maximum allowed will be removed or not read and will not be evaluated by the Government. Proposal Files Format. The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date and RFP number in the header and/or footer. A Table of Contents should be created using the Table of Content feature in MS Word. MS Word (doc) files shall use the following page setup parameters: Margins – Top, Bottom, Left, Right – 1” Gutter 0” From Edge – Header, Footer 0.5” Page Size, Width – 8.5” Page Size, Height – 11” 3.4.2 Restrictions. Zip disks are not permitted. Files shall be in read- only format, using PDF files. All price breakdown information to aide in the price evaluation shall be submitted in Microsoft Office Excel Read/Write format and viewable in Microsoft Excel 2010 (or later). Each file shall be labeled with the volume number, date, and the Offeror’s name. **Please note – Self extracting exe files are not acceptable** PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Proposal Due Date and Time. The entire and complete Proposal, composed of Volumes I through II, shall be submitted by 29 DEC 2025, MONDAY at 11:00am CST , Any Proposal, modification, or revision received by the Government after the Proposal due date and time will be considered “late” and, at the Government’s discretion, may not be considered. The Offeror will submit Proposal via e-mail to
[email protected] and
[email protected] PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE A “CONFIRMATION” EMAIL TO ENSURE YOUR PROPOSAL HAS BEEN ACCEPTED PRIOR TO RFP CLOSING TIME. You are encouraged to send your response to the RFP in early. LATE PROPOSALS NOT RECEIVED IN “IN BOX PRIOR TO RFP CLOSING DATE/TIME” WILL NOT BE ACCEPTEDF PROPOSAL CONTENT All information shall be confined to the appropriate file. The Offeror shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the Proposal and provide adequate basis for evaluation. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each Proposal. Each file of the Proposal shall consist of a Summary section, and a narrative discussion. The summary section shall contain a brief abstract of the file. Proprietary information shall be clearly marked. Offerors must ensure that no pricing information is displayed in Volume 1, Technical and Past Performance. The following shall be included in the narrative discussion: Volume I – Technical Approach (Factor 1) In this volume, the Offeror shall provide a complete and detailed description of its technical approach to fully achieve all requirements outlined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Offeror shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the scope of the services required in the PWS and describe its proposed methods and processes to satisfy all PWS requirements, including tasks/functions to be performed, labor categories needed, experience and knowledge that personnel should have to perform the tasks/functions, and supplies/equipment required. The Offeror shall also describe their approach how you will meet the requirements in a timely manner with a high level of confidence for successfully completing tasks/functions to include methods, procedures, and risks in addition to the following. Key Employees: Years of experience with Department of Defense (DoD), reflected in Resume, Quality of Service, Years of experience in cafeteria/DFAC/restaurant by each applicable position – reflected in Resume, Certification(s) in field of study training – reflected in Resume Technical Operations: Schedule of ordinary daily activities involved in running the DFAC, to include a Narrative of the average wait time for the patrons waiting to be served. Provide sample menus and provide plan for leftovers. Provide cleaning schedule and training for staff. Provide Food Safety Health Score with Proposal. Execution of Management: Narrative to support your schedule (complete thoughts on task), Health rating (provide a snap shot/photo, of your Google or Yelp of ratings), Turnover ratio within a year for employees, Brief description of how the incoming and outgoing company will work together to create a smooth transition Cont. of Vol I - Present/Past Performance (Factor 2) This volume shall contain past performance information regarding similar contracts. This volume requires at least two (2) references but shall not exceed five (5) references and 15 pages in total (summarys not included in page totals) excluding Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 2) form(s) or CPARS report(s). However, a CPARS report is preferred as a response, if available, and a copy may be provided as a substitute for a response in lieu of a PPQ. Recent past performance is defined as work performed not more than three (3) years prior to the date of the RFP due date.This volume requires reps & certs be included and tabbed appropriately. Section 1 – Contract/Task Order Descriptions. This section shall include the following information for each contract reference in the format below. Not to exceed one (1) page in length for each contract/task order. Contractor/Subcontractor place of performance, CAGE Code and Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number. If the work was performed as a subcontractor, also provide the same of the prime contractor and point of contact (POC) within the prime contractor organization (name, and current address, email address, and telephone. Government (or industry) contracting activity, and current address, Procuring Contracting Officer’s name, email address, and telephone. Government technical representative/Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and current e-mail address, and telephone. Government contract administration activity and the Administrative Contracting Officer’s name, and current e-mail address, and telephone. Contract/task order number and, in case of indefinite delivery type contracts, GSA contracts, and Blanket Purchase Agreements, include Delivery/Task Order Numbers as well. Contract/task order type (specific type such as fixed price (FP), cost reimbursement (CR), time and materials (T&M), etc.). In the case of Indefinite Delivery contracts/task order, indicate specific type (requirements, definite quantity, and indefinite quantity) and secondary contract type (FP, CR, T&M, etc.)). (For IDIQ contracts, only task orders actually performed can be submitted as a reference, with each counting as a past performance reference.) Awarded price. Final or projected final price. Original delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work. Final, or projected final, delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work. Period of performance of the contract/task order. 4.2.2. Section 2 – Performance Narratives. Offerors shall provide a specific narrative explanation of each contract listed in Section 1, Contract Descriptions, describing the objectives achieved and detailing how the effort is relevant to the requirement of this RFP. For any contracts that did not/do not meet original schedule or technical performance requirements, provide a brief explanation of the reason(s) for the shortcomings and any corrective action(s) taken to avoid recurrence. The Offerors shall list each time the delivery schedule was revised and provide an explanation of why the revision was necessary. All Requests for Deviation and Requests for Waiver shall be addressed with respect to causes and corrective actions. The Offerors shall also provide copy of any Cure Notices or Show Cause Letters received on each contract listed and a description of any corrective action implemented by the Offeror or proposed subcontractor. The Offerors shall indicate if any of the contracts listed were terminated and the type and reasons for the termination. 4.2.3. Past Performance Questionnaire (RFP Attachment 2). For all contracts identified in Section 1, Contract Descriptions, when a CPARS report is not available or does not exist, a Past Performance Questionnaire must be completed and submitted. The Offeror shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire and e-mail the questionnaire to both the Government contracting activity and technical representative responsible for the past/current contract. The POCs shall be instructed to electronically complete Part II of the questionnaire and e-mail the entire questionnaire to the Contracting Office no later than the Proposal submission due date, to add names and e-mail addresses. 4.2.4. The Offeror shall e-mail to the contract specialists listed above (paragraph 3.5.2.) a list of all the POCs who were sent a questionnaire. The Government must receive this list no later than the Proposal submission due date. The POC list shall be submitted in table format to include the following fields: Solicitation Number; Company Name; Contract Number Government Agency; POC Last Name, First Name; POC Telephone Number; POC E-mail Address; and Date E-mailed to POC (month/day) Volume II – Price (Factor 3) This volume shall consist of all information required to support proposed price. Certified cost and pricing data are not required; however, the Government reserves the right to request such data prior to award. All Offerors must submit their price Proposal in accordance with the Price Model (see Attachment 1). The information submitted in this volume shall comply with the requirements set forth below. There are no page limitations for this volume. The Offeror shall ensure that the information submitted in this volume is consistent with and fully supports the amounts set forth in the SF1449 and continuation sheets. In order to maintain a minimum level of commonality between Proposal, each Offeror is required to complete in its entirety the Price Model (Attachment 1). Offerors are required to price the base period and four (4) one-year option periods. 4.3.3 The Price Model spreadsheets shall be sent in a file format that includes all formulas, macro, and format information. Print image is not acceptable. The Offeror shall at a minimum complete the Price Model provided at Attachment 1 to this RFP and provide additional detail necessary to verify compliance with any applicable wage determination. Modifications to the labels of indirect rate categories and related formulas within the price model are permitted only to the extent necessary to conform to the Offeror’s accounting practices. The Offeror is solely responsible for the completion of the Price Model in its entirety and in a manner that reflects current, accurate, and complete information concerning proposed pricing. 4.3.4 For Proposal preparation purposes, the expected or approximate date for initiation of contract performance is Estimated at 1 February 2026.. --- End of FAR 52.212-1 Addendum --- ADDENDUM TO 52.212-2 EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2021) 1.0 RANDOLPH-SHEPPARD ACT CONSIDERATIONS: 1.1 This procurement will be conducted pursuant to the Randolph-Sheppard Act (R-SA), 20 U.S.C. 107 § Operation of Vending Facilities and 34 CFR § 395.33 Operation of Cafeterias by Blind which establishes priority for blind persons recognized and represented by the State Licensing Agency (SLA), in the award of contracts for the operation of cafeterias on federal facilities. Accordingly, although the solicitation is set-aside 100% for small business, the State Licensing Agency will also be permitted to submit a proposal in accordance with 34 CFR § 395.33(b). 1.2 The Government will award a single contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered or to the SLA under the R-SA priority pursuant to the procedures outlined below in the provision. 1.3 If the SLA’s proposal was found to be technically acceptable with acceptable past performance and the SLA demonstrates through its proposal that it can provide such an operation at a fair and reasonable price as determined by the Government (2) has been judged to have a reasonable chance of being selected for award pursuant to the source selection criteria, and (3) provide food of high quality comparable to what is currently provided to service members, then priority/award will be given/made to the SLA subject to a determination of contractor responsibility and consultation with the Secretary of Education (IAW 34.CFR § 395.33(b)). 1.4 If the SLA proposal does not meet all criteria listed in the RFP and in paragraph (1.3) above, the SLA priority will not apply and award will be made to the best value offeror, as outlined in section 2, “evaluation factors for award,” of this provision, subject to a determination of contractor responsibility. If the SLA is dissatisfied with an action taken relative to its proposal, it may file a complaint with the Secretary of Education under the provisions of 34 CFR § 395.37. 1.5 If the contracting officer determines that a proposal should be excluded, the contracting officer will provide written notice of the exclusion to that offeror. If the SLA’s proposal is excluded, the SLA may file a complaint with the Secretary of Education under the provisions of 34 CFR § 395.37. 2.0 EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 2.1 If the priority/award is not given/made to the SLA, or no SLA vendors submitted a proposal in response to this RFP, the Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: 2.1.1 Technical Capability 2.1.2 Past Performance 2.1.3 Price 2.2 Basis for Award 2.2.1 The Government intends to award a single Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Contract as a result of this solicitation. 2.2.2 Per FAR 9.103, the contract will be placed only with an offeror that the Contracting Officer determines to be responsible, that is, those who can satisfactorily perform the necessary tasks and deliver the required services on time. Prospective offerors, in order to qualify as sources for this acquisition, must be able to demonstrate that they meet standards of responsibility set forth in FAR 9.104. In addition, the Government may assess the offeror’s financial ability to meet the solicitation requirements. No award can be made to an offeror who has been determined to be not responsible by the Contracting Officer. 2.2.3 Consistency. Each section of the offeror’s proposal shall be consistent within the proposal. 2.2.4 Completeness. The Government’s ability to evaluate a proposal may depend on the level of detail and supporting documentation provided. Insufficient supporting documentation or detail in a proposal may prevent the Government from evaluating a proposal. 2.2.5 The Government will assess the offeror’s proposal on three factors: (1) Technical Capability, (2) Past Performance and (3) Total Price (TP). 2.3 EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITY 2.3.1 Evaluation of this factor will assess the offeror's proposed approach and understanding of the requirements and risk of unsuccessful performance of the proposed approach to technical capability in accordance with PWS paragraph 5. 2.4 EVALUATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE 2.4.1 The evaluation of this factor will assess the risk of unsuccessful performance of the offeror’s proposed approach to performing efforts of a similar scope, magnitude, and complexity as the requirement described in the PWS. 2.4.2 The Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance to determine the likelihood that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort described in the PWS. 2.4.3 Contracts submitted in the Past Performance section of the offeror's proposal will not be considered if the Government determines them to be not recent, not relevant, or lacking any credible past performance information. If the offeror does not have a record of Recent and Relevant past performance 2.4.4 The offeror may also be evaluated on past contract performance information utilizing internal Government or private source information and the Government reserves the right to use any information received as part of its evaluation. The Government may contact any of the references the offeror provides and reserves the right to use any information received as part of its evaluation. 2.4.5 In evaluating the offeror's performance history, the Government may compare the offeror's deliveries or performance to the contract's original delivery or performance schedule, unless the delay was Government-caused. Schedule extensions that were the fault of the offeror, even if consideration was provided, may be counted against the offeror. 2.5 EVALUATION OF PRICE FACTOR 2.5.1 Evaluation of price will be performed using one or more of the price analysis techniques in FAR 13.106-3. Through these techniques the Government will determine whether prices are reasonable, complete, and are not unbalanced. 2.5.2 Reasonableness. The Government will evaluate the price reasonableness of the offerors' proposed prices to ensure that in its nature and amount, it does not exceed what would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. The Government shall employ price analysis techniques in accordance with FAR 13.106-3 to determine that a proposed price is fair and reasonable. 2.5.3 Completeness. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions with offerors, but discussions are not anticipated or intended. Since discussions are not anticipated or intended, the Government requires complete proposal with respect to price. A complete proposal will include all information required by this solicitation. 2.5.4 Unbalanced Pricing. Offerors should note that pricing will be carefully reviewed to detect whether proposal are unbalanced between line items or subline items, as well as unbalance between periods. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more line items is significantly over or understated as indicated by the application of cost or price analysis techniques. Unbalanced offers may be determined unacceptable. 2.5.5 As part of price evaluation, the Government will evaluate its option to extend services (see FAR Clause 52.217-8) by calculating the price for six months of performance using the monthly pricing from the offeror's final ordering period prices. The calculated six-month price will be added to the offeror's total proposed price. (End of Addendum) Ordering Instructions The Government will issue a task order at the beginning of each period of performance (base year and each option year) to cover primary services at Smyrna Training Site. Additional task orders may be issued for separate events and for alternate site location requirements. The following individuals are authorized to place task orders for the Tennessee National Guard: NAME TITLE Teresa Baxter, Contracting Officer Randall Halbrooks, Contracting Officer, Samuel Beard, Contacting Officer, Rhonda Lien, Contract Specialist Sinamar Benauro, Contract Specialist, 3. Task orders are for the Tennessee National Guard. However, external organizations using the Smyrna Training Site may utilize a task order for ordering with permission form the contracting office. Historically the following have utilized the TN National Guard DFAC; (not a complete list) Boy Scouts of America Tennessee Army Reserve National Guard United States Army Reserve Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence United States Navy United States Navy Reserve End of Ordering Instructions.