Omni Gets Exclusive in Fort Worth

When the Omni Fort Worth Hotel opens in January, it will not only have 607 guest rooms and 68,000 square feet of meeting and function space – it also will have the exclusive contract for all food and beverage services at the Fort Worth Convention Center across the street, something Aramark now shares with outside caterers.

Until now, Aramark has provided concession and beverage service at the convention center while there has been no exclusive contract on catering. However, part of the agreement Omni made with the city of Fort Worth in 2005, when it agreed to operate the convention center hotel, was the exclusive right to concession, beverage and catering services.

“It was part of the whole package we developed,” said Kirk Slaughter, director of public facilities and events at the convention center.

As for Aramark, Slaughter added, “They're absolutely wonderful. It's absolutely no reflection on them or their abilities.”

Having one catering provider will improve quality assurance for convention center clients, he said.

With open catering, different companies entered the convention center for different events, Slaughter said. However, attendees perceived it all to be the convention center's food, reflecting incorrectly on the center if the attendees had a bad experience.

“That's just something that's beyond our control,” he added. “This will give us consistent delivery.”

The convention center, built in 1968, was bought by the city from Tarrant County in 1997.