Matchday catering upgrade

Octopus.

 

Thought this was an old thread from the Ridsdale era, had to check the dates but then it could have been any season since.

 

Although the intent is good, I can't help think the timing is poor and the thinking a little bit backward.

I'd very much hope the club have done some critical thinking and really should be much more advanced with it given the first home game is so close, so nothing is going to be in place by then. The food offering at Oakwell hasn't been up to par for ever, let alone since food standards and output improved markedly over the last 15 years.

I'd be starting from the base of what does the club need. Where does it want fans to be in the build up to the game. In their seats, in the concourses, outside the ground. It can then look to place offerings in the areas in wants people to be in by certain times.

Secondly, whats it's ethos? Is it going to get serious about localism and truly being a community club? If so, the club has a database of tens of thousands of people. Some of those are going to be small business owners or ones that work for small businesses. You are likely to have people who work in the food sector and maybe on farms. Given farmers are getting hammered every which way at the minute, it makes sense for the club not only to help them a little by giving them opportunity to sell their wares, but maybe just give them a bit of promotion too.

I don't see any reason whatsoever once existing contracts lapse why BFC can't have a policy of Yorkshire produce, goods and suppliers only. Anywhere on the BFC estate should. Thats not difficult. And the more local the better, for so many reasons.

Once they've a list of interested producers, then discuss what they can do, how it can be set up and down into the detail of finances and who has ownership of delivering quality, workforce and standards.

There are plenty of high calibre street food style vendors in the UK and there must surely be some in the local area too. Let them push ideas and innovate and deliver a much better offering given its theirs and they care about what they do. We don't have a huge staff set up at Oakwell. In this case I'd be channelling efforts into local small independent companies and managing them.

 

Have a couple of the mobile food vans in the East Stand concourse.
The smell alone as you go through the turnstiles would entice people to buy.
And DO NOT OVER PRICE everything. It's no good trying to sell food when people like me can only stare longingly at fish and chips or real beef burgers priced at ten quid a throw.

 

Pot noodles.

 

With the cost of everything going up, if you were to open farm produce stalls/vans etc no one would buy anything and would just complain about the prices.
Possibly invite different local producers into the fan zone and switch it about a bit.
Stick to the basics but do it right and have adequate staff and stock to ensure people aren’t queuing right through half time into the second part of the match.

 

I think the way to go would be to sell spots to local food vans and traders etc. rather than the club getting the produce to cook and sell ourselves. Makes it easier for the current staff while adding more choice and variety for the fans.

In an ideal world, we would have some local traders have food stalls in and around the fan zone before games to get more fans to come there before kick off rather than going into town etc. then in terms of in the ground, the focus needs to be on improving service speeds to get through the queues quicker, but also pairing with a local brewery would be massive too. Having some proper local ales on tap in the fan zone and the ground would be so much better than the options we have now. Lager is fine, and there will be a lot out there that like that, but having some local ales on would be a brilliant option too.

 

Based on the increase in demand for the vegan option, it’s got to be popular ??
Not for me I might add

 

It all comes down to service, if I was running it I would sell a thousand pints more every game, a young lad or lass walk to other end to pull a pint cone back and does same again for money.
Always thought perhaps they don’t want to sell ale in the Ponty.
It’s not just beer though same for food and hot drinks and running out of Bovril is woeful it has a shelf life of ages.

 

Easy, falafal.

 

It HAS to be Acorn's Barnsley Bitter.

Obviously

I'm (sadly) old enough to remember the original, brewed at Oakwell.

 

At Headingley yesterday. A dozen different stalls on the concourse, all no doubt paying the club to stand there. No reason why you couldn't do the same at least in the East Stand then focus your time, limited staff & resources on Ponte & West.

I had a lovely coffee & falafel wrap.

 

Shop across from Alhambra does a lovely hot roast pork sandwich - be great on a cold day.

It won't be a pot of Greek Yoghurt that someone was eating in front of me in the Ponty one time - strange one

 

Another option - Headingley lets you order via a partnership with Uber Eats & go collect at the gate.

 

Why no Acorn brews in the fan zone Gally? I don't particularly like the Brewdog offerrings which seem to have taken over. Why the change?

 

Food wise, a vegetarian option would be great! There's never anything.

The boards say Pie, peas and gravy. That sounds great! But they don't do peas or gravy.

They could do some really cool stuff with the food and drink options. I'm sure people have said it before, but Footy Scran on twitter shows what clubs can do

 

Cheers. That's twice now for me and first time (back end of last season) it was stated there was a supply issue. I just wondered if it was the same issue . Good to know it will be back on.