ST. LOUIS – Cardinals fans will notice three new food options in 2023.
Of the three, only Big Chicken, a chicken sandwich restaurant chain co-owned by former basketball star Shaquille O’Neall, is brand new to the St. Louis market. The company’s other Missouri outlet is at Kansas City International Airport.
The menu features several takes on “Nashville” hot chicken, including the “314” which comes on a Cardinal Red Maple Bacon doughnut, in partnership with Vincent Van Doughnut, a St. Louis artisanal doughnut shop.
Big Chicken has already partnered with Delaware North, the Busch Stadium food service vendor in other arenas.
“We've seen great success in other arenas and other venues with them so we believe in their operations and obviously this stadium specifically has been known to be one of the best, highest volumes in their company so we truly trust and believe they're gonna come through for us,” said Matt Piekarski, Big Chicken’s Vice President of Culinary Operations, who says the company sees this location as a gateway to other locations outside Busch Stadium.
Mission Taco Joint will feature two menu items customers recognize from the outlet’s other restaurants, a mango shrimp taco and a vegan soft taco, along with two exclusive items for Busch Stadium. Fans can buy a regular taco with crispy tortilla, ground beef and bean, taco sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo, and queso fresco, along with a “Hot Corner” chicken with a Buffalo chicken feel. Street Corn, and a ballpark version of West Coast Nachos are also on the menu.
Busch Stadium will be the first Major League Baseball venue for Freddy’s which has also put locations inside minor league ballparks and airports in recent years.
The menu will include the Original Double and Bacon Double steakburgers, along with shoestring fries and cheese curds. Food will be cooked fresh on site, but sold in a grab and go format
“When we go non-traditional, when you're in airports, when you're in ballparks, cook to order won't work because people need it faster for the experience,” said Andrew Thengvall, Chief Development Officer at Freddy’s.
In the near term at least, custard won’t be on the Freddy’s menu.
It’s part of a mantra echoed by the others. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, you might say. It’s all about being able to meet the expected demand in fast fashion, while doing it in a tough hiring environment.
“We’ll probably add a couple tacos as the season gets going. They said we should start with a smaller menu than bigger, so that sounded like a good idea,” said Mission Taco Joint Co-owner and Chef Jason Tilford, who said the stand would be staffed early on with managers from other locations in an “all hands on deck” approach.
“It's all hand-breaded and deep fried all assembled, but the process itself is super easy so it lends itself to a less amount of people but it's still a freshly made product so we think it kind of works well in this environment because we can still make it to order and it doesn't require 20 people,” said Big Chicken’s Piekarski
“Keeping up with production is really my only concern,” said Vincent Marsden, owner of Vincent Van Doughnut, of the partnership on the Big Chicken “314” sandwich. “It is a limited production. hopefully we can ramp that up a little bit more but it is an item here that will sell out so it's one of those things that you kinda gotta get here and hope you get your hands on one.”
Food FYI
Busch Stadium is cashless. Food from outside the stadium can be brought in as long as it fits in a bag no larger than 10” x 8” x 10. Only coolers with soft sides are allowed. No alcohol can be brought into the stadium. Non-alcoholic drinks must be in “factory-sealed plastic bottles no larger than 2 liters”
Outside food is not allowed in all-inclusive zones, Cardinals Club or suites.