Opening a restaurant inside a\u00a0big league\u00a0ballpark\u00a0is a big step for a small business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just ask Matthew Chavis, manager of\u00a0Stuggy\u2019s\u00a0in Fells Point. The restaurant\u2019s crab macaroni and cheese dog was a hit from the start and taking it to Camden Yards has exposed it to more customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing associated with a landmark like Camden Yards boosts brand awareness and places\u00a0us\u00a0in\u00a0front\u00a0of\u00a0customers\u00a0who\u00a0may\u00a0not\u00a0otherwise\u00a0encounter\u00a0our\u00a0business,\u201d\u00a0Chavis said\u00a0over email.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The downside?<\/p>\n
Unpredictable\u00a0demand,\u00a0strict\u00a0stadium\u00a0policies,\u00a0ballpark\u00a0logistics\u00a0and\u00a0sharing revenue with the concessionaire.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stuggy\u2019s\u00a0is one of a handful of local eateries\u00a0taking on those challenges at\u00a0the stadium this season as sub-contractors to Levy\u2019s Restaurant, the team\u2019s official concessionaire. Also available\u00a0at the ballpark\u00a0are\u00a0corned-beef sandwiches from\u00a0Attman\u2019s\u00a0Deli, Asian-fusion cuisine from\u00a0Hampden\u2019s\u00a0Ekiben, pizza from\u00a0Squire\u2019s\u00a0in Dundalk,\u00a0french\u00a0fries from The Local Fry and burgers from Fuzzies, a food truck operator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daniel Doyle, the executive chef of Levy, said the stadium and team\u00a0benefit\u00a0from the\u00a0additional\u00a0range of offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives our fans a great experience,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe can offer the restaurants a great platform and stage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Chicago-based Levy is prominent among national concessionaires that seek out local restaurants in the stadiums and arenas it manages, said Tara Fitzpatrick, editor in chief of\u00a0FoodService\u00a0Director magazine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIts\u00a0kind of emerging in the field as a way to give a sense of place,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for local businesses as it gives them exposure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The restaurants say the exposure\u00a0makes the revenue sharing \u2013 which trade publications say can top 40% while master concessionaire gets the remainder \u2013 worthwhile.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stuggy\u2019s\u00a0has\u00a0more\u00a0than\u00a0a\u00a0decade\u00a0in\u00a0business\u00a0in\u00a0Baltimore \u2014 nothing to turn up one\u2019s nose at, but also a far cry from Baltimore icon Attman\u2019s, which is celebrating 110 years of selling sandwiches.<\/p>\n
Jeff Myers, the director of operations for\u00a0Attman\u2019s\u00a0Harborpoint\u00a0shop, said the company\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0expect to make riches off the stadium operation.\u00a0But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a way to remind people that\u00a0Attman\u2019s\u00a0is still part of the\u00a0community\u00a0after more than a century in business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0lose\u00a0money on it.\u00a0It\u2019s really free advertising,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re just thrilled to be a part of\u00a0it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ekiben,\u00a0an award-winning restaurant that started out\u00a0selling\u00a0Asian and Ethiopian cuisine\u00a0at farmers markets,\u00a0now has outlets at Fells Point, Hamden and South Baltimore. Employees report that customers\u00a0at\u00a0those sites often say they first tried the food at Camden Yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople\u00a0from\u00a0different\u00a0states\u00a0and\u00a0different\u00a0parts\u00a0of\u00a0Maryland\u00a0come\u00a0to visit Camden Yards. When they try our food, they\u2019ll often come to the storefront or make a visit to Baltimore and dine with us,\u201d general manager Joseph A\u00f1onuevo said over email.<\/p>\n
Factoria Maria\u00a0Pupuseria\u00a0is taking the opposite approach, said\u00a0co-owner Jocelyne Polio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Salvadoran\u00a0eatery\u00a0started as a pop-up at Camden Yards during the 2023 All-Star game.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0since\u00a0opened a stand there and at other ballparks in the area where it sells\u00a0its\u00a0pupusas, quesadillas and chorizo dogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Business has gone so well it is\u00a0now scouting locations for a\u00a0brick-and-mortar\u00a0location outside\u00a0of\u00a0stadiums, Polio said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0team, she says, \u201cHas been very supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Morgan and David DiDomenico contributed to this article.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opening a restaurant inside a\u00a0big league\u00a0ballpark\u00a0is a big step for a small business.\u00a0 Just ask Matthew Chavis, manager…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[82911,143,47,2538,5,1404,82912,82913,82914,82915,4,23849,1407,4377,125,185,82916,1428,82917,82918],"class_list":["post-647009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baltimore-orioles","tag-attmans-deli","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-baltimoreorioles","tag-baseball","tag-camden-yards","tag-ekiben","tag-foodservice-director","tag-fuzzies","tag-levys-restaurant","tag-mlb","tag-opacy","tag-oriole-park","tag-oriole-park-at-camden-yards","tag-orioles","tag-sports","tag-squires","tag-stadium","tag-stuggys","tag-the-local-fry"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116302444427762726","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}