Sutter Health Park introduces new food items
Sutter Health Park is preparing for the 2024 Minor League Baseball season, which is quickly approaching and begins at the end of March.
The Sacramento River Cats have introduced new food items and stands prior to the new campaign according to the director of operations for food & beverage, Gabe Erhartic. One of the newest additions is a smokehouse area down the first base line.
“One of the biggest challenges that we have is our 10-20 busiest games of the year, the right field side of the stadium has a really hard time keeping up with the third base side,” Erhartic explained. “What we're trying to do is two things, one to have a big whole stand over there for when it's busy so people at Home Run Hill have somewhere to go without having to walk all the way around. The other thing we're trying to do is create signature products.
“We have an old smoker that was packed away, so that was a nice restoration project. We're going to turn the Merlino's Freeze stand in right field into a bar. We're going to move Merlino's into our Sweet Spot location. You can go to the BBQ pit and get a combo plate. Then when you're paying at the smokehouse area, you're right next to the bar and can get a beer. It will be a finish line for the BBQ pit and a stand alone bar. This is meant to be fun and engaging.”
Turkey legs, hot links and beef ribs are among the barbecue options for those interested. Other new items remain in research and development, Erhartic said. Also in right field is the Solon Club upstairs.
“Upstairs, that area has its own concession stand called `Uncle Charlie's,' which is slang for a curveball,” Erhartic said. “What we're working on up there is really big sandwiches that are large enough to be shared between two or three people. Some of the things that we're working on in that department include a brisket melt and a 12 oyster po-boy sandwich. We've also been working with our hot dog partner, V. Miller Meats, to bring in a wagyu hot dog, which would be uncharted waters for them.”
Data mostly determines what stays and goes each season, per Erhartic.
“There are a couple factors. One is I definitely want our chef (Ray Smith) to feel in control of their own menu. There are some things like chicken sandwiches or particular sauces that might come and go,” Erhartic
said. “We definitely look at some of the lower performing items like the corndog, which certainly will get some verbal curiosity of where it went but at the end of the day, the numbers don't lie.”
With the minimum wage in California rising again at the beginning of 2024, the River Cats have to find ways to keep prices economical while still turning a profit.
“The big thing we look at is we try not to take advantage. I know sometimes the prices might seem high but sometimes in a stadium in environment, there are hidden costs that the fans don't see,” Erhartic explained. “The example I like to give is with bottled water, if you buy it at a convenience store, two to three days a week they get a delivery that goes right where it needs to go. For us, to move a bottle of water around the stadium, we're moving pallets around with a forklift, which requires more than one person for safety reasons and needs to be done way off (business) hours.
“Sometimes people have sticker shock with bottled water but a lot of that ties into overhead cost. We look at what things cost out in the world. Part of the magic is if we can get people to be OK paying a little more for things we know they're going to get like hot dogs, popcorn and bottled water, I think that gives us the latitude to put the more exciting stuff at a reasonable price point.”
Food and beverage options vary depending on the event you attend at Sutter Health Park.
“We definitely scale back the options for non-baseball events,” Erhartic said. “We have a lot less staff and try to avoid having a lot of prep days leading up to the event. At a baseball game, you see food and beverage sales be pretty evenly matched but with non-baseball events, everything skews very heavily towards beverage consumption away from food. We don't want to have too many choices but we don't want to phone it in either.”
In the past, the River Cats offered mobile ordering through the MiLB app. However, that has been temporarily put on hold and its return is to be determined. A job fair was hosted at the ballpark on Jan. 27, and Erhartic encourages anyone looking for a part-time job to apply on the team's website.
“We're always hiring for concessions,” Erhartic proclaimed. “It's a great first job for the younger crowd and a great retirement job if you like to interact with people and see some free baseball. You don't have to commit to all 75 games.”