ST. LOUIS — The Busch Stadium food scene will feature a few tweaks in 2025 while largely focusing on reliable sellers when fans arrive starting Thursday for the season opener against Minnesota.

The stadium will return all of its 2024 partners (have no fear, Slinger Dog fans) and make a few additions in 2025, including the first Crumbl cookie stand at a MLB stadium, a point of pride for franchisee Melissa Bohlmann, a Cardinals fan who has been with the company for four years. 

The stand will feature a four-pack of peanut butter, chocolate cake batter, chocolate chip and a “gameday” cookie that will only be available at Busch Stadium. The flavor will be revealed Thursday.

Crumbl will be where an Asian stand was previously located. That option moves to a spot known as Intentional Wok, located near Ford Plaza behind center field, next to the Outfield Grill, which is highlighted by new takes on hot dogs, sausage and bratwurst.

“The good news about working at Busch Stadium is, while the fans love a lot of new things, they also are creatures of habit,” said Norman Taylor, Jr, the Executive Sous Chef for Delaware North, who noted that Busch Stadium nachos outsell all other MLB venues. “We try to make sure that any new items that we bring is going to sell, something that’s trending maybe, but St. Louis is a baseball town, give em what they want, a winner on the field and their nachos.”

Next to the Outfield Grill is a Freddy’s Frozen Custard stand that will only sell custard. The Freddy’s location remaining on the 400 level will not sell custard.

The stadium continues to embrace local restaurants, and this year brings Mayo Ketchup, a South American-Caribbean restaurant in Midtown, into the fold.

“There’s not enough of this food in the city as it is and there’s definitely nothing in the stadium that looks anything like what I do,” said chef and owner Mandy Estrella, who will serve beef and chicken empanadas, Cuban sandwiches, sweet plantains and cheese arepas. The four items are popular in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The challenge for any local restaurant in getting a platform like a spot at Busch Stadium is being able to meet the demand. Estrella is confident that lessons learned as her business survived the COVID pandemic and has evolved to include catering and other adjustments, will serve her well.

“You’re going to have a learning curve the first couple games to see how things flow and work. We’ve been through the ringer with restaurants and COVID. We all have, so we’re conditioned to make changes as needed,” said Estrella.