Now at bat … specialty foods: franchises, food courts, regional foods are among the new lineup at the ballpark

Nation's Restaurant News, April 3, 1989 by Bill Carlino

NOW AT BAT . . . SPECIALTY FOODS

With the first pitch of the 1989 season, major league ballparks across the country will begin an annual ritual of hawking food and concessions to 53 million fans throughout a 162-game season and the World Series.

Vendors bellowing "Get yer' hot dogs" and "beer here" have become as much a part of baseball's fabric as Cooperstown or a no-hitter.

And while the timeless quinella of hot dogs and beer remain at the top of the batting order in terms of fan popularity, a broad array of specialty and regional foods have found a niche in major league stadium feeding circles.

Nachos, Polish sausages, sushi, Chinese and Greek fare, chicken wings, frozen yogurt, and even croissants are attempting to crack the hot-dog and beer stereotype and claim their share of an industry that approaches $300 million in annual revenues.

To support the wider variety of items offered in recent years, more stadiums are currently featuring food-courts -- a ballpark's food-service answer to one-stop shopping. Equipped with five or six separate stations, food courts offer fans a simultaneous selection of as many as 30 items.

Even national fast-food franchises are becoming a part of stadium feeding, as the presences of McDonald's in Toronto, Burger King in Montreal, and Domino's Pizza in Detroit demonstrate.

"We're seeing a trend toward more variety and national brand exposure in major league stadiums," says Bob Smith, vice president of sales and marketing for the New Jersey-based Harry M. Stevens Inc.

The 102-year-old company provides food service at 35 sports facilities across the country, including: Shea Stadium in New York, the Houston Astrodome, Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and Boston's Fenway Park.

"However, while a wide variety of food is great, hot dogs and beer will always be your biggest sellers," says Smith, who adds that hot dogs account for 50 percent of food sales for Harry M. Stevens and estimates that for each game, fans spend between $3 and $7 a head.

Meanwhile ballparks across the country are fine-tuning their food-service facilities in preparation for opening day on April 3.

At Shea Stadium in New York, a multi-million-dollar expansion of the food concession facilities that began in 1983 is in its final stages.

Included in the renovation are 10 additional concession stands and a multi-concept facility offering up to 25 items.

Shea's version of the food court features an expansive seating section resembling a picnic area.

"We want to give the fans opportunities for more choices," says John Morely, director of concession operations at Shea. "This year we'll offer upscale beers, sausages, fried zucchini, and a make-your-own sundae bar."

Morely adds that on the press level Shea has a full-service kitchen that prepares lunch and dinner entrees to the Diamond View Suites -- private glass-enclosed luxury boxes for VIP season ticket holders.

Diamond View entree selections include baby back ribs, seafood Newburgh, sliced fillet of beef, and Louisiana shrimp.

"We work off a set menu," Morely explains. "But if someone wants something special, we can make anything provided we're notified in advance."

Besides the Diamond View Suites, Shea's upscale food-service facilities include the Diamond Club, a private full-service restaurant and a banquet room that can accommodate 300 people.

Unfortunately, not all experiments into food-service variety at Shea were accepted with good grace.

Shea concessions contractor Harry M. Stevens Inc. literally had to stave off a fan rebellion when it replaced the stadium's traditional paper cup ice cream with ice cream on a stick.

Across town in Yankee Stadium, the fabled "House that Ruth built," food-service contractor Volume Services, a subsidiary of Canteen Corp., boasts a food court where rabid Yankee fans can get raw clams and oysters, various types of sausage sandwiches, hard and soft ice cream, and nachos.

Jamie Herskowitz, operations manager for the concessions at Yankee Stadium says ballpark menus have expanded tenfold since he began his food-service career as a stadium vendor in 1967.

"When I started there was one hot dog, one beer, one soda, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks," Herskowitz remembers. "Now I don't think there's a baseball stadium that offers anything less than 20 items."

Rico Picardi, another ballpark food-service veteran who has overseen operations at Boston's antiquated

Fenway Park for 46 years, says basic items haven't changed that much, but now every stadium has specialty stands. Such items include wing dings (breaded chicken wings with fries), Italian sausages, and fresh-made pizza.

Five years ago Fenway experimented with a fried shrimp dish and despite Boston's being a coastal city, the item quickly became a vendor's white elephant.

Red Sox fans are just as particular with their hot dogs. The franks in Boston have never been highly seasoned or heavily draped with onions or sauerkraut.

In 1975, however, the Red Sox management introduced sauerkraut, and immediately the fans began a "get rid of the kraut at Fenway," campaign. The idea was quickly shelved.