Tim Ryan and his team skated into the Hall of Headlines with a new, in-house concessions concept. (Photo by Greg Dohlen)
No matter how much you prepare yourself, there’s always one requisite feeling everyone experiences when tackling a new endeavor — nervousness.
Such was the case for Tim Ryan, CEO and president of Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., winner of this year’s Hall of Headlines award for Concessions. Ryan (who also serves as COO of the NHL Anaheim Ducks) and his team are being honored for taking their food & beverage operations in-house after 20 years with Aramark, as well as opening a new outdoor dining restaurant, one of the first in the National Hockey League.
“Here we are opening the doors, waiting for everyone to come in, just staring at each other,” he said. “You’ve done as much prep as you possibly can, you try to keep an eye on everything and suddenly the bar is full of people who don’t realize that a group of guys had just finished painting it about an hour before the doors opened.”
The changes at Honda Center were some of the biggest in the 20-year history of the facility. Not only did the building end its relationship with Aramark, it also opened a new 15,000-sq.-ft, members-only restaurant with a huge balcony for year-round outdoor dining, complete with fire pits and two elaborate bars. The restaurant is part of a $20-million renovation that also includes a new Wolfgang Puck restaurant on the concourse for all visitors to the arena. Honda Center also opted to take its merchandise operations in-house with the Anaheim Ducks Team Store Powered by Reebok.
Running the F&B operation is Executive Chef Joseph Doyle, formerly with Churchill Downs, Louisville, where he was responsible for creating all the menus throughout the venue for the annual running of the Kentucky Derby.
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in a very long time,” Doyle said of his new position. “I get to basically create my own world, with my own set of colors and my own type of paintbrushes.”
The initial feedback over the first two months has been very positive, said Ryan.
The decision to take F&B and merch in-house wasn’t because the Honda Center was unhappy with the service provided by Aramark, which handles concessions for Anaheim’s three other city-owned properties: Angels Stadium, Anaheim Convention Center and City National Grove of Anaheim.
“This came down to the fact that the timing was right and we trusted our experience,” Ryan said.
The decision to take both divisions in-house was an attempt to create a unified staff culture, “where marketing people are joined at the hip with the food & beverage people.”
Is it hard work?
“Absolutely, but it is a different feeling when everyone is getting a paycheck from the same owner and all are pushing in the same direction,” Ryan said.
The Honda Center has seen a 10- 20-percent uptick in their gameday per caps, compared with events in the previous fiscal year. Part of the boost in sales, Ryan explained, was that the 500-seat Grand Terrace takes pressure off the concourse by moving patrons into a newly-created space, freeing up room in the interior.
“It’s important for our organization to constantly try and anticipate how the industry is going to be changing next year, in two years and in five years,” he said. A lot of the discussion centers around the changing nature of information technology and how wireless infrastructure shapes point-of-sale systems, in-seat ordering and even smartphone-enabled purchasing.
It’s a cultural shift for the 800 employees Honda Center brought on board to staff the massive undertaking, and Ryan noted the importance of training and shaping the look and uniform of his F&B team.
“Everyone has to buy in to the concept and we get plenty of ideas from our employees,” he said.
Ryan knows that the ultimate fate of the Grand Terrace and Honda Center’s in-house concessions endeavor is being closely watched by the sports industry, and while he downplays the magnitude of their move, he does say the attention can make for an aspirational atmosphere.
“If some day others are looking to us as any type of a model, that would be very flattering,” he said. “But for now this is about us trying to do things as cutting edge as possible. It’s one thing to get off the ground. It’s another thing to sustain it and that’s where we are right now.”
