Aramark's Cuban Pretzel Dog served at PNC Park, Pittsburgh.
With a $13-million week of catering and concessions at McCormick Place in Chicago for Savor, 34 new amphitheaters to serve for Legends, and a 100th anniversary and new headquarters for Delaware North, concessions companies are starting 2015 on a high.
Interviews with top executives in the space also revealed a growing pattern of partnership and early involvement with venues when deals are cut. As Sportservice President John Wentzell put it, “In most cases, given the complexity of our business and the role food, beverage and retail figures into overall product, there is a real qualitative piece to this versus just a numbers game. The majority of contracts are holistic, very balanced, looking for a quality partner who can drive that experience but is also financially driven.”
Rather than acting as a vendor to the venue, concessions companies today strive to work as partner to the client. “The level of food has to be terrific to meet customer expectations. That is the bigger picture play there,” Wentzell said.
FIRSTS AND FOREMOSTS
Shaun Beard, SVP, Savor, a division of SMG, said Microsoft is making history at McCormick Place May 3-8, when a guarantee of 21,000 people for full breakfasts, full lunches and full receptions brings that historic $13-million catering bill, amounting to almost half the convention center’s food and drink gross for the year.
Savor served over 300,000 meals between the Microsoft crowd in the East Building and a cable show of 13,000 in the West Building. “It’s the most catered food ever at one time in one week,” Beard said of the significance of the events.
It involved a call for 700 employees per day and Savor brought in over 100 key staff from other venues to help. It’s a Super Bowl for the convention business.
Rolling out new food service for 34 Live Nation-owned amphitheaters, a piece of business Legends Hospitality won in January, has kept Shervin Mirhashemi, Legends president and COO, on his toes this first quarter. Legends has seen huge growth, more than doubling in size in the last 24 months, Mirhashemi said.
Growth is a result of customizing its approach to each client, he said. With Live Nation, Legends Hospitality is working with the promoter to introduce destination-type tailgate concessions that will bring music fans to the amphitheater early for a mini-festival type experience at every show. They are also planning to integrate new points of sale systems that will be more interactive with the customer.
That’s on top of gearing up for a major piece of business in just a few short months, a feat Mirhashemi said is being accomplished with the help of a dedicated team. He has one person who does nothing but oversee the Live Nation account, year round, and four regional heads who are similarly dedicated.
ON THE MENU
Innovations in food will always be a driver, and all of the executives interviewed pay attention to the menu, which must appeal to a more sophisticated and discerning customer.
Carl Mittleman, president, Aramark Sports and Entertainment, said the firm has stayed away from the gimmicky food that captures headlines and sought to deliver menus that reflect the desires of fans, based on extensive data and feedback.
Over 600 units of the new chicken waffle cones were sold on opening day at Minute Maid Park in Houston, he said. The item is a waffle cone filled with mashed potatoes and popcorn chicken with a honey mustard sauce. He recalled biting into a taco dog at Coors Field, Denver, made of chorizo sausage topped with lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese and thinking that tasted just like a taco. “We had great fan buy-in,” he said.
Premium food offerings are not limited to the premium side of the business anymore. “Our fans have become foodies, food connoisseurs,” Mittleman said.
That mentality has also led to a demand for customization, which can be challenging in a rapid food service environment.
At Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Mo., Aramark introduced the craft and draft bar, a newly converted space that was the Stadium Club. “We do a custom pizza pie we can cook in 80 seconds, topped however the fan desires. That has been extremely popular. We sold 200 units of pizza out of one location on a Tuesday night,” Mittleman said, adding it did not impact speed of service.
Wentzell noted a trend toward smaller serving sizes, which he called shareables. “We just introduced slider hot dogs at Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio. They try different flavors on each one. People want to eat in small bites and share and gnosh together.”
Delaware North Sportservice also bought a spike to food quality with purchase of Patina Restaurant Group. “That was a game changer,” said Wentzell. “It’s a terrific company, an important piece to where our business is going.”
While Delaware North is going through a rebranding, the Patina name stands alone, operating in some high volume, high profile spaces like Rockefeller Center and the Disney parks. “We have soft borders,” Wentzell said. “It’s about their experience and expertise and how it applies to ours. It’s about collaboration.”
“In 2015-16, mission critical, mission number one is expanding our new and existing businesses,” Wentzell said.
BUYING POWER
Acquisition of Scotland’s Heritage Portfolio Limited in early 2014 helped boost high-end catering for Centerplate. It adds cachet, absolutely, said Chris Verros, Centerplate president and CEO.
Centerplate also integrated its practice teams covering facility design and construction, capital project planning, equipment procurement and strategic consulting under one banner — Hospitality Solutions Group — headed by Eric Wooden. “I think we were the first company to have an in-house design team and we’ve tried to enhance that group.
Hospitality Solutions Group launched in January. “We get the opportunity to meet with our clients hopefully before they put an RFP out. We find out what they want to do with food,” Verros said.
At First Tennessee Stadium for the Nashville Sounds, Centerplate was in on the ground floor and able to tie food into the local community with partnerships like Ben and Max Goldberg, local restaurateurs, who supplied the Band Box in right field. It’s much preferable to being given the space after the architect is done, Verros said.
Interviewed for this story: Shaun Beard, (610) 729-7916; John Wentzell, (716) 858-5809; Carl Mittleman, (215) 238-3000; Chris Verros, (203) 975-5900; Shervin Mirhashemi, (310) 237-4100