2003 Ivy Awards - Levy Restaurants Sports & Entertainment Group

By Margaret Sheridan, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 5/15/2003

When baseball’s Chicago White Sox approached Larry Levy in 1982 about handling concessions and catering at Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field), the co-founder and chief executive officer of Levy Restaurants couldn’t have known that he would raise standards for ballpark dining and transform his company as well.

Since its founding in 1978, Levy’s most visible achievements have included such restaurants as Ivy Award winner Spiaggia in Chicago and Fulton’s Crab House in Orlando, Fla. At the same time, however, the company has quietly pioneered the union of elegant dining with sports and entertainment venues. “There were no foodservice role models for sky boxes [in 1982],’’ says the businessman and avid sports fan. “We were it.’’

Levy chose to see opportunities rather than limitations in nontraditional foodservice, bringing a restaurant company’s marketing flair to concessions. Why sell plain hot dogs at Detroit’s Ford Field when you can give fans a Knife and Fork Footlong Coney Dog? And why not offer local food favorites, such as pierogies at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park? For luxury sky-box suites, Levy’s roving dessert carts have become a signature feature.

They all reflect the passion of John McLean, vice president and chef d’ cuisine for Levy Restaurants Sports & Entertainment Group (S&E). Many ideas originate at McLean’s annual chefs’ brainstorm summit. The best land in the Levy recipe database, shared among the 56 properties that S&E caters in 35 markets, including some of the most storied venues in sports, such as Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., and Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Though a natural evolution of their business, Levy Restaurants’ expansion into convention centers, motor speedways and sports stadiums was uncharted territory for the operator. Levy’s contracting business boomed as more new venues—all specifically designed to accommodate revenue-producing sky boxes—opened in the 1980s and 1990s. S&E chefs offered customers carving stations and raw bars while woks hissed and menus teased with dishes more typical of trend-setting restaurants. The group even introduced wine lists to suites and boxes. When home teams went on the road, suites and sky boxes were marketed for weddings, private parties and corporate meetings.

The S&E Group’s impact on the company’s bottom line has been significant. Levy Restaurants overall sales were $382 million in 2002, with S&E contributing $313 million. That’s a far cry from 1990 when restaurants accounted for 67% of total sales. The company aims for $420 million in gross revenue this year despite a sluggish economy, with about 83% ($349 million) expected from contract catering. Larry Levy says growth has come from tapping unexpected markets.

International markets, too, are calling. Levy gets a boost from its association with London-based Compass Group PLC, which acquired a minority stake in Levy Restaurants in 2000. In late 2002, the partners signed to cater Old Trafford, home to English soccer powerhouse Manchester United.

No matter the continent or venue, menus are customized for each location, says McLean. Before a concessions deal is inked, he and his team descend on a city for days of marathon tastings of local fare. McLean ensures quality by focusing on details. “We apply restaurant standards at S&E operations,’’ he explains, “detail by detail.’’

For ballpark concessions, he raises the perceived value of hot dogs and rolls by making sure serving temperatures are consistent and by serving high-quality relish, mustard and ketchup. Even paper goods need to be sturdy and user friendly.

Sky boxes are treated as private dining rooms where per-guest costs can tab $100 and up. Crab from Maryland goes into crab cakes, as do fresh herbs and Japanese breadcrumbs, preferred for lightness. On the carving station, cast-iron skillets laden with hash browns look rustic yet hold the heat needed for a crusty product. Items on the dessert cart, from cheesecakes to nut bars, begin with the best ingredients—unsalted butter, whole fresh eggs, heavy cream and pure vanilla extract. Whipped cream served with banana cream pies is the genuine article.

“I associate food with travel destinations,’’ McLean says. That means smoked turkey and Oklahoma (at Drillers Stadium, home of minor-league baseball’s Tulsa Drillers); Coney Island hot dogs and Detroit; and crab cakes and the Eastern Seaboard (at Washington, D.C.’s MCI Center).

Visitors to Lincoln Park Zoo, a Levy client in Chicago, enjoy one-handed meals such as smoked-turkey wraps with beverages from carts and kiosks that welcome grab-and-go food fans. French fries in animal shapes and drinks sipped from plastic gorilla cups find young fans in the zoo’s cafes and restaurants.

A few miles south of the zoo, the S&E Group tends to the 9.2 million people who annually visit Chicago’s Navy Pier. They may come for black-tie receptions at the 3,000-foot-long pier’s Grand Ballroom or stop for a sandwich at the Big Wheel Café adjacent to the 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel, but Levy is ready for them.

Cooking, transporting and serving in a building that opened in 1916 is daunting, agree Executive Chef Steve Schiele and Edoardo Mazza, general manager for Navy Pier catering. “Instead of doing a single event for 10,000 guests, we think of doing 10 parties of 1,000 each,’’ says Mazza.

Key to Levy’s continued success in a market as varied and challenging as sports and entertainment is the spirit with which the company and its management accepts such opportunities. “When the White Sox asked us to cater, I was insulted at first,” says Larry Levy. “Then I thought, maybe I can get better seats.’’