Philly Eats Magazine Second Edition 2017

FESTIVAL
identical place their partners buy
from. So when you buy a Federal
Donut or a Tony Luke’s Steak they literally
made on the same grill top, or
donut machine that is in their main
facilities. “This mindset brought instant
trust with the brands, we even
have their managers coming in and
training the Aramark staff” Kevin said,
“In a lot of cases we find that after our
staff learns the way they end up going
to work for the different brands because
they already know what it takes
to make the sandwich or whatever”.
One of the large challenges they
have is the pure volume that needs
to be taken care of in a short amount
of time. To give an idea, Chickies and
Pete’s Crab Fries is so busy the Phillies
made an investment to purchase
32 high density fryers to handle the
demand and there are still lines at
times. The standard restaurant might
have 4. “A huge advantage we have
here is space” Bruce was saying,
“with the power and hood demands
that would cause it wouldn’t be cost
effective in a restaurant setting. But
here we have space and can accommodate
the demand”
Primo Hoagies is newer to the
ballpark and franchisee Mike Pieciuk
who owns the Chestnut Hill location
had some apprehensions that have
been answered quickly. “We obviously
have a reduced menu here so we
can keep the quality standards” Mike
stated. At the ballpark the gates open
roughly 2 hours before gametime and
their sales window is roughly 4 to 4.5
half hours. Most of the stands will do
more food in that time slot then they
do in a full day of operation. “We also
didn’t want to saddle the employees
down with a huge menu when there
is so little time between customers”
Mike continued. “It is a good problem
to have but our quality is our reputation,
so it is important to make sure
every hoagie is perfect.”
This is a trend that Kevin and
Bruce both echoed as well, “The idea
that we want to keep the food fresh as
well as the lines down is huge.” Kevin
said. Outside of the brands you know
Bruce and Kevin wanted to make sure
that all of the food was for all of the
fans. CBP has been acknowledged by
PETA as a Top 10 Vegan Friendly Ballparks.
An honor that they hold highly.
Kevin mentioned ” a big aspect is we
have vegetarian and vegan options
all throughout the ballpark not just
in one section.” Again this was done
by design and ease, ultimately they
wanted the ballgame to be the main
focus and not have their fans struggle
to find something to eat.
Considered concessions in name
only is the famed Diamond Club area
behind home plate. This area is reserved
for premium seat owners and
offers chef prepared meals. The day we
met there were different stations that
were prepared right in the ballpark like
fresh made kielbasa, maple and brown
sugar smoked bacon that was used
on sandwiches of your choice among
many different options. Chef Anthony
Campagna overseas all of the food in
the ballpark and he makes sure there is
a great mix and themes that will make
the customers come back.
To be completely honest I have
been to hundreds of Phillies games
over the years and when I decided to
do this article I wanted to tell a story
that was a bit different than before. I
did spend a couple of hours in their
busy world to convey the work they do,
but as I saw first hand this is a 24 hour
a day operation and a very efficient one
at that. Bruce, Kevin, Chef Anthony and
their staffs do a very hard job and it is
one that they enjoy. Next time or the
first time you make your way to Citizens
Bank Park I am sure you will have
an appreciation for the food and what
goes into it. At least you should.
12
Philly Eats Magazine July 2017