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Fans aren’t
looking for an ordinary experience when they go to see their
favorite team play and that experience isn’t only about how the home
team plays. Ho-hum food isn’t an option. "Experiencing" the food is
just as important as experiencing the game.
So how do you turn one of America ’s favorite stadium foods, the hot
dog, into an experience? You don’t. For many, the hot dog is the
experience ? it ’s just not the only food option. While the hot dog
may still be the choice of many at sports stadiums across the
country, selection is growing. From brick oven pizzas, to
hand-carved roast beef, patrons are being offered and expecting more
food options. For years, traditional stadium fare consisted of
pre-wrapped hot dogs held in drawer warmers and doled out to paying
fans with no questions asked. While the hot dog is undoubtedly still
the king of ballpark foodservices, more and more operations are now
serving their hot dogs fresh off the grill. At the venerable Yankee
Stadium, freshly grilled hot dogs are the norm in the vast majority
of the concession stands, while at SBC Park in San Francisco, hot
dogs and specialty sausages are cooked in full view of patrons and
are served open in a boat that facilitates the addition of a vast
array of condiments.
And let ’s not forget Wrigley Field where thousands of famous
Chicago Dogs are served fresh off the grill with all the classic
condiments: emerald relish, fresh tomatoes, a pickle spear, hot
peppers and celery salt. Fans in different cities like their hot
dogs served in different ways. Several years ago, there was quite an
uprising at Dodger Stadium when the foodservice operator switched
from the classic grilled "Dodger dog " to a steamed version. It did
not take too long before the outcry brought back the grilled
classic.
The Challenges of Serving It Up Fresh & Fast
Many stadiums are beginning to anchor their main concession areas
with QSR or fast casual concession alternatives. Bringing the food
to the front, in an open-kitchen design, assures fans that their
food is freshly prepared. This approach, while an improvement for
concession operators, places increased demands on space and as a
result, square footage requirements are always an issue. The idea is
to get as many people through the lines in a limited amount of time
and that normally translates into more points of sale, but the
question is how to balance sales positions with display cooking and
just in time product assembly. Concession sales generate more
revenue in a ballpark than anything except ticket sales, but even
so, these new approaches still place pressure on stadium designers
and architects to have both a high number of points of sales while
at the same time, bringing the food to the front and out of the
confines of the concession "back room".
This rise of quick casual dining and high concept foodservice
operations has trickled down to large public accommodation
facilities like stadiums, both minor league and major league as well
as convention enters. This accelerating trend is an extension of the
improved large-scale foodservices that began with the new generation
of stadiums and ballparks over the last decade. Of course there are
many other food offerings besides hot dogs that have benefited from
the new emphasis on quality and freshness. The Gordon Biersch stands
at SBC Park serves tons of their famous garlic fries every year.
Millions of fans have lined up for the piping hot French fries that
are tossed with fresh garlic, olive oil, kosher salt and freshly
chopped parsley to create the unchallenged king of the stadium
French fry.
This emphasis on quality is making its presence known in minor
league ballparks as well. In the new ballpark being planned for
Lancaster, PA, all French fries served will be fresh-cut boardwalk
style fries. The smaller size and lower sales volume of minor league
facilities will allow this unprecedented initiative to blaze new
territory for minor league ballparks. Also in Lancaster, the main
concourse concessions have been reconfigured into two "concession
courts". These large foodservice areas are recessed off the
concourse with a circulation area in front of the foodservice
counters instead of being placed parallel and flush to the
concourse. In addition to fresh off the grill hot dogs and fresh
French fries, these new concession courts will use the new-style hot
food holding bins that are frequently seen in McDonald ’s and Burger
Kings. Proteins like burgers, chicken breasts and sausages are
cooked using traditional methods such as griddles and char broilers.
The cooked meat items are then held in the holding bins that are
designed for fast access, long-term holding without any loss of
moisture, heat, flavor and texture. Attendants then work out of
these holding bins assembling small batches of sandwiches as demand
warrants. An added feature is the incorporation of high-speed
vertical contact toasters that heat and caramelize the surface of
sandwich buns improving the taste, texture and temperature of the
prepared sandwiches. This just-in-time food production system
guarantees patrons commercial quality food that meets or exceeds the
quality one expects from QSRs and fast casual operations.
In addition to the standard concession items, each of the two
concession courts at Lancaster is anchored by two premium outlets.
On the first base side, hand rolled pretzels and grilled premium
sausages flank the main, central food counters while the third base
side features hand carved roast beef and brick oven pizza. The open
design, branded identities, and strong interior design elements of
these anchors all add to the retail impact of the concession
operations. These new concession courts mimic what is seen in fast
casual operations across the country.
Concession is the #1 generator of sales
At the Washington Convention Center, Executive Orders takes the fast
casual model to convention centers. A series of seven fast casual
concepts, each self-contained and each with a specific and focused
menu serves the thousands of Convention Center attendees each year.
The concepts are: sandwich and salad, coffee and pastry, Mexican,
pasta, brick oven pizza, seafood, Pan-Asian, all-American grill.
The way food is displayed in such concepts lends a positive air to
the customer experience. Rather that pre-wrap food items and hold
them in nondescript holding cabinets, items are prepared and served
in open baskets. These baskets are held on heated granite slabs
accented by hanging pendant-style heating lamps. This type of visual
display enhances the customer ’s perception of quality and helps to
stimulate sales. Hot food holding technologies are integral to the
fast casual model in large public accommodation facilities. Prepared
food is frequently held in the new generation of holding cabinets
for items that are assembled to order. At FedEx Field, home of the
Washington Redskins, the in-seat service menu for the Club Level
(the largest in-seat services in the country), meats are cooked with
traditional cooking equipment and Combi Ovens and are held in
humidified holding cabinets. As food is ordered from in-seat service
attendants, the order is beamed wirelessly using a high-speed data
network to one of four service kitchens located in each corner of
the stadium and the sandwich is assembled to order and given to a
runner to deliver to the seat-holder. The result is a freshly
prepared sandwich that is not cold, soggy or otherwise "tired " and
is of the quality one would expect in a retail foodservice
operation.
By John DePaola of
Foodservice Resources and reprinted with permission from the
Manufacturers' Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry (MAFSI)
OutFront Magazine |
