One of the biggest amenities in venue VIP areas is the food, which arguably can make or break the overall experience, as expectations tend to be high.
While buffets with a larger selection of dishes and top shelf alcohol used to be enough to set these sections apart, the bar has now been set higher to include action stations with on-site customized cooking, mixologists serving up custom cocktails and guest chefs providing local favorites for fans.
“The biggest trends we’re seeing are in food and service style,” said Danielle Lazor, vice president of design and development for Philadelphia-based Aramark’s sports and entertainment division. “We’re seeing a lot of customization, or the ability for guests to personalize their experience.”
Millennials are driving the move toward higher quality food with cleaner and more nutritious ingredients that are locally sourced. Many contend this is lifestyle-driven and reflects the updated spaces that offer a more comfortable, homier setting.
“We’re seeing more premium spaces that feel like a gourmet kitchen or open concept living room and kitchen experience,” said Lazor.
Today’s foodservice programs also are not always meal-oriented, as more guests are into snacking and grazing. Yet, venues still must be cognizant of other generations’ more traditional expectations.
GOING ABOVE & BEYOND
For many stadiums and arenas, it’s not about looking at foodservice programs as a checklist, but about customizing the experience as a whole.
“Each VIP has a different need or experience,” said Shaun M. Beard, senior vice president, food and beverage, at Philadelphia-based SMG’s Savor & Premier brands. “A concert-goer has different needs than a sports fan, so we have to make sure the catering and facility sales staff understands each type of person.”
Also, at big arenas or stadium shows or concerts, there are different VIP foodservice amenities than at performing arts centers or theaters with segregated premium areas.
In terms of revenue potential, every market has its own limits.
“What we do in Los Angeles differs from what we’d offer in Peoria, Ill., for example,” said Beard. “Folks will pay a premium for the right experience, but venues need to be dialed in to what the market is looking for and define what can be sold.”
In some instances, the facility’s accommodations dictate what can be accomplished.
For example, it used to be a novel idea to include a chef’s tasting room with a convention center VIP package, but now this amenity has become more commonplace in other types of facilities.
Buildings with more limited high-end areas also have options.
“In some cases, they can take that inventory during a concert and create a club experience,” said Beard. “The venue can package a performer meet-and-greet with food and drinks, which has evolved from what buildings were potentially designed to do and maximizes the potential.”
Customization allows venues to put a fresh spin on foodservice programs, while thinking outside the box when it comes to offerings.
“As different demographics go to games, we’re seeing ballparks and stadiums make adjustments,” said Richard Schneider, COO for Delaware North Sportservice, headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. “This includes fresher food in smaller batches and almost cooking to order in some areas, with more individual and customizable dishes.”
FOCUS ON THE FOOD
In larger stadiums and arenas, there may be multiple VIP areas that have different tiers of food and beverage amenities.
“In Dallas’ 94,000-seat Cotton Bowl Stadium, the premium seating includes suite and press box areas, along with balcony porches and two hospitality levels where foodservice is expanded,” said Ed Campbell, owner of Ed Campbell Co., Dallas.
These include a more extensive menu with traditional concessions offerings, in addition to themed dishes, such as Mexican or western barbecue. Items are served from four or five food stations.
The stadium’s hospitality party decks, which can hold up to 1,500 people, have expanded menu offerings and an enhanced cocktail service as well as high-end hors oeuvres.
“We add flowers and plants to soften the areas, which include flat screen TVs on the wall,” said Campbell.
At Dallas’ Fair Park, VIP areas are both inside and outside of the facility. The latter includes tents and temporary structures near the building.
“Once we determine what our inventory is, we put together a food and beverage program to fit the VIP’s needs,” said Campbell. “There are various options to look at in terms of adapting their plan pregame, which is the majority of requests.”
Depending on the budget, the menu may be more basic with grilled burgers and hot dogs or include upscale food presentations, such as a prime rib carving station.
Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Americrown Service Corp., which specializes in motorsports catering and concessions, customizes its menus at each of its racetracks’ catering areas.
“The menu has a regional identity, depending on the location of the racetrack,” said Chef Michael Pappas. “In Miami it’s Caribbean and Latin American driven, while Alabama’s Taladega track features Southern food and barbecue and Fontana in California has Asian cuisine.”
In each case, the focus is on fresh and locally-grown ingredients and sustainability. The goal is for each track’s VIP menu to have its own identity. This is accomplished by partnering with local food providers.
“We offer hand-made Cuban pastries from a local baker in Florida and sell fresh-baked donuts from a popular bakery in California,” said Pappas. “This keeps business in the community, while also highlighting local favorites.”
The racetracks also do scratch cooking, and will even bring fully-functioning container kitchens on the road with tented eating areas for VIPs.
The complexities of offering fresh food in a motor racing environment presents challenges.
“It seems simple, but it isn’t,” said Pappas. “We do lots of cooking with whole muscle meats and figure out ways to prepare fresh food, which we do differently at each track with similar set ups.”
A Changing Dynamic Traditionally, suite menus have offered packages with limited a la carte options, but this is no longer effective, as consumers’ palates have changed.
“They want to be able to have a hot dog, a Buffalo Chicken Slider and a salad, for example,” said Marco Fabozzi, regional director of operations for Levy Restaurants, who oversees the culinary programs at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, and NYCB Live’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y. “When you order packages, you’re ordering for mass quantities. Every consumer is different based on the type of event.”
Another trend is that the next wave of consumers is changing — they’re getting younger, and those individuals are more inclined to use technology to order.
“An example would be touchpad screens in premium areas, but also giving people the option to grab food from the concourse or mini food stations that is easily accessible to a suite holder,” said Fabozzi. “Perhaps the venue builds that into the price of the suite or offers it as an add-on.”
The other challenge in foodservice and VIP/club areas is crowd sizes.
“We are still catering to the masses; it’s hard to do individualized food options for a large-scale venue,” said Fabozzi. “The question is how to keep up with speed of service, efficiency, technology and the change in consumer demand.”
The VIP consumer is changing, with trends going towards a large variety of not just food, but also seating options.
“A suite holder, or someone who has purchased a suite package, wants to be able to have a little bit of everything,” said Fabozzi. “People don’t always want to be tied to the suite, so we would need to adjust the food experience a bit, too. For premium ticket holders who want to roam, we ask ourselves the questions, how do we make it easier for them to buy food? Do we have food baked into their suite purchase so they can enjoy the Calvin Klein Club food at Barclays Center? If they’re up on the mezzanine, where are they going for light bites?”
For venues, the challenge is to make the process appealing enough for the upsell, which is not always easy.
“The VIP consumer is our most profitable consumer,” said Fabozzi. “If we as an industry or venue aren’t changing the way we interact with them, we are going to be more reliant on the non-VIP person. That person’s disposable income and purchasing power is far less than the VIP consumer. The solution is the marriage of the ticketing and sales process, along with food and beverage that is going to drive top-line revenue growth and improve revenue for the stakeholders. It’s by making more people want to buy and making the process more flexible.