$25 Sushi, $10 Beer make for record SB sales
Tuesday, February 08 2011
By Michael Rawlings' calculations, it took five tons of cheese steak, 8,000 pounds of hot dogs, 15,000 Kobe beef sliders and a foot-long list of additional goodies to fill the fans that filled Cowboys Stadium for Super Bowl XLV. This article was written by Karen Robinson-Jacobs and appeared in the Dallas Morning News.
Rawlingsis chairman and chief executive of Legends Hospitality, which handles the food service operation at Cowboys stadium – everything from nachos to sushi.
With record attendance of well over 100,000, Rawlings was confident he'd get a record $5 million in Super Bowl food and drink sales.
As he toured the food stations of the Main Concourse and Hall of Fame level before kickoff Sunday, he seemed to be after a more ethereal goal.
"This is a special moment in people's lives," Rawlings said after inspecting the beer can chicken tacos and beef brisket at an NFL On Location stadium party. "We know we need to make it special."
Did he make it less expensive? He thinks his margins are "fair," and food a good value, even at $25 for sushi.
For Allison Halloran, of Westchester, N.Y., the prices for the Stadium fare were reasonable – by New York standards. And it's "a little more upscale than [typical] stadium food," she said after dining on braised pork that cost $25.
Deneice Chavez and husband Kenny of Irving were resigned to pay $9 for nachos and $10 for a beer, given the occasion.
"I think the prices are really high," Deneice Chavez said, "but these are the best nachos I've ever had."