Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.
SMG’s food and beverage division SAVOR has been selected as the new food service provider for the 72,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio and, in the process, will do what many venues are now doing in the concession area by offering up more regional food options native to the local scene.
“They really answered our desire to have a multitude of different types of food here,” said Nick Langella, general manager of the Alamodome. “They brought a lot of branding concepts to the table and focused on local flavor with some high-level food options that we didn’t have for the last 20 years of existence here.”
The 15-year agreement begins in March and is just one of the highlights of a stadium currently undergoing a $50 million renovation as it prepares to host the 2018 NCAA Final Four as well as the annual Alamo Bowl and the Notre Dame-Army football game this November.
“It’s always fantastic to win such a prestigious facility as the Alamodome,” said Shaun Beard, senior vice president for the Premier & SAVOR divisions of SMG. “It is the centerpiece for the City of San Antonio and was a very important target for us and one we look at as a very important milestone to continue our growth in our food and beverage group. We’re excited to be here.”
While a number of local restaurants will now be featured at the venue, three in particular stand out in the branding of having hardcore Texas roots as Los Barrios Mexican Restaurant, The Big Bib BBQ and Earl Abel’s Restaurant featuring fried chicken will now be staples at the concession stands.
“We looked at the Alamodome and the sense of what we could bring to it,” Beard said. “We saw that we could bring a great diversity of local products, local vendors and local people to really give the Alamodome a sense of place, meaning that it’s not just another stadium that serves hot dogs and nachos but one that really represents the flavors and the people and the culture of San Antonio. From the feedback we got from the city council, that’s what separated us from the competition.”
“There are requirements within the RFP of using local businesses to put an emphasis on local products,” Langella added, “but SAVOR came back with companies that are really, really favorites here in San Antonio and proven entities. We’re real excited about having those companies involved going forward.”
In pursuing the account, SAVOR reached out to Black Tie Affairs Catering, a food purveyor that has served the local market since 1985.
“We looked at who was innovative, who was local and who was about delivering a different experience,” Beard said in reference to meeting another RFP stipulation to form a local joint venture. “We did a lot of research and found Richard Ojeda, the owner of Black Tie, who will help us source the right products, source the right vendors and will also help us market our products. Richard is really tied in to what we do as an organization. We’re trying to not just deliver catering and concessions for the event but doing pre- and post-event catering and concessions surrounding the events in the Alamodome.”
“When it comes to catering, Black Tie is exceptional,” Langella said. “Theirs is considered hotel-quality food and that’s the expectation level that we have for our suites and club level patrons. Then there are the general food offerings at the concession level that are more of what we’re about and to satisfy customers. It’s not beer and hot dogs anymore and it hasn’t been for quite awhile.”
SAVOR will also bring its extensive experience in building sustainable food service operations to the stadium to increase recycling and composting while reducing the carbon footprint generated.
“For us as a company this is an area that is just woven through,” Beard said. “It has been one of (SMG President & CEO) Wes Westley’s biggest visions before it was popular. It is woven into everything we do from our catering to our concessions operations. We look at the vessels that the products are served in down to the sustainability of a product and whether it meets or exceeds the different requirements to get different certifications such as the Green Seal Certification we received for outstanding sustainability at McCormick Place in Chicago. What we plan to do at the Alamodome is just an extension of what we do everywhere throughout this organization in both our SAVOR brand and our Premier brand foodservices.”
That footprint is even more important as Langella seeks new national bookings for the stadium. He noted that the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center underwent a $325 million expansion and that the Alamodome is often used for a number of general sessions in conjunction with conventions.
The stadium is also home to the University of Texas at San Antonio college football games.
“It’s important for our customers and important to the NCAA folks and the people we do business with as well as being important to us and to the city,” Langella said. “SAVOR has a full program on sustainability and it’s a high priority for us as managers as well. We’re in line with that and I’m just real pleased to be working with SAVOR and BlackTie and the SMG folks. We’re looking for their experience from some of the venues that they have to be brought to our operations here at the Dome.”
As far as the food is concerned, Langella said that you cannot fool the locals.
“People in San Antonio know what Mexican food is and what barbecue is but it was important for us to have that offering for the events that draw people from other areas so they can experience that. SAVOR hit the mark.”
Interviewed for this story: Nick Langella, (210) 207-3610; Shaun Beard, (610) 729-7916