Beth Surdej attended most Buffalo Sabres home games last year as a first-time season ticket holder. But she was not overly impressed with the food at KeyBank Center, so she didn’t eat often at the arena.
But she is encouraged by the improvement in the food quality and selection this season and the willingness of arena concessionaire Delaware North to hear from fans about menu items at KeyBank Center.
She was one of about 100 people to take part in a “Fan Fare Culinary Council” on Wednesday inside the Lexus Club at KeyBank Center. They were asked for feedback on several arena menu items as part of Delaware North’s new initiative to give sports fans in venues it serves a more active voice in the food and beverage experience.
“I think this is great that they care enough to put this on and get our opinions,” Surdej said. “I’m impressed that they are doing it.”
It is also part of an effort by Delaware North to improve some of the offerings at the arena, after fans have lodged considerable concession-related complaints about the quality of the food.
Delaware North hosted tastings for team leadership in the off season and committed to refocusing on its core food items in the arena – such as hot dogs, pizza and nachos – that make up most of the game day sales at KeyBank Center.
The council in Buffalo consists of about 500 fans – a mix of Sabres’ full- and partial-season ticket holders, as well as individual ticket purchasers. It is an initiative first piloted by Delaware North in June at Comerica Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers.
“They’ve gotten a lot of criticism in year’s past, and rightly so – the food was not so great,” said Scott Demayo, who attended Wednesday with his wife, Marlene. “But they’ve done a lot to improve it.”
Judy Ragona and her husband, Mike, second-year Sabres season ticket holders who drive up from Cattaraugus County to attend games, wanted to join the council so that they…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply