9/10/2024

Dear Campus Community,
 

The Dining and Event Services (DES) team is excited to announce some significant changes to our catering services for campus events. Effective immediately, DES is now licensed to purchase and sell alcohol for your catered events on campus. This change, made in partnership with Columbia Hospitality, brings several key benefits to the Puget Sound community:

  • Cost Savings: Lower costs associated with purchasing alcohol for your campus events.
  • Convenience: You no longer need to spend time and energy shopping for, purchasing, transporting, unloading, and storing alcohol.
  • Safety: Ensuring safe alcohol service and oversight for campus events.
  • Simplified Process: No need to apply for a banquet permit to host your event.
  • Efficiency: Centralized storage reduces product waste and allows for use across multiple events.
  • Revenue Opportunities: Provides additional revenue opportunities for the University through sales to external event groups.

As we implement these enhancements to our campus catering services, some important changes will affect how you plan for your events. Please take a moment to review our updated (Interim) Alcohol & Drug Policy and Events & Alcohol Procedures to familiarize yourself with these changes. Below are a few key points:

  • All alcohol for campus events must be purchased through DES Catering Services, with some exceptions for small gatherings. Please reference the Events & Alcohol Procedures or contact the catering department at catering@pugetsound.edu to discuss exceptions.
  • An application and approval from the university are still required before hosting an event with alcohol on campus.
  • Orders must be finalized and confirmed at least two weeks before your event date to ensure we have the necessary products and staff.

We appreciate your attention to these changes and look forward to catering your next event. If you have any questions or would like to discuss these updates further, please reach out to our catering team at catering@pugetsound.edu

Sincerely,

Aaron Shook
Director of Auxiliary and Business Services