Come January, Legoland California will have an outside company overseeing all its food and beverage operations, and its 558 culinary workers will have a new employer.
The planned switchover to third-party vendor Aramark, known for its hospitality and food service operations at sports stadiums, colleges, attractions and health care venues, was first announced early this year by Legoland parent company Merlin Entertainments.
The U.K.-based company said at the time that Aramark would be handling food service at seven of its theme parks, including its two Legoland parks in California and Florida.
As the transition nears, the Legoland parks were required to issue notices of impending layoffs in both states. The notices, though, seem to suggest that current Legoland workers will be rehired by Aramark. Legoland spokeswoman Julie Estrada said no jobs would be lost.
The notice for the Carlsbad theme park was issued at the end of October and covers a variety of workers, from servers and bartenders to resort hotel chefs. Affected at the Florida park are 519 employees.
While the terminations will be effective Jan. 14, Legoland California Human Relations Director Michelle Hill stated in the letter that all “personnel duty positions and rates of pay will remain effectively the same” and workers who currently receive benefits will “automatically change over to Aramark’s plans with no break in service.”
Estrada said this week that she was unable to comment on the operational change beyond providing a written statement.
“Legoland California Resort and Legoland Florida Resort are initiating a relationship with Aramark Corporation, an industry leader in destination dining, to provide resort guests a custom culinary experience beginning in January,” she said. “All personnel, duty positions and rates of pay will remain the same once the transition to Aramark takes effect and all affected employees have been notified of the change.”
What remains unknown are what changes, if any, are in store for families who want to grab a bite or a full meal while visiting the park. The Carlsbad resort currently offers a number of food options, from churros and ice cream stands to specialty ramen, barbecue and pizza and pasta restaurants.
The motivation for the food service switch is likely cost savings and an opportunity to improve culinary offerings, speculated theme park consultant Dennis Speigel.
“This happens a lot in the stadium business and at zoos and other kinds of attractions,” said Speigel, who heads Ohio-based International Theme Park Services. “It’s typically about cost savings — getting the leverage of a large company to buy more cheaply in bulk through their other operations. I’m sure there will also be menu changes, and Merlin will be looking for that from Aramark, as well as pricing improvement and innovation.”
At the time Merlin announced its plans to partner with Aramark, Merlin CEO Nick Varney talked about elevating the culinary experience of its park guests.
“Aramark’s accomplishments in driving world-class hospitality (programs) at many of the most prestigious sporting events, iconic locations, and leading destinations in the world makes them a great partner to elevate our food offering as part of the magic and memorable experiences we offer our guests,” he stated in a news release.
While not providing much additional detail, Varney noted at the time that each Merlin theme park and hotel will have its own unique array of food and beverage options “based on the personality of the location.”
Legoland’s Carlsbad resort includes two Lego-themed hotels that also have food service.
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