Brewers to announce largest-ever capital project at Miller Park (Latest: multimillion dollar concessions project, post 74)

[Bombers]

I went to the Brewers game on Sat 4/29 and here are my 3 concession's encounters:

1. ~ 40 min before game started - went to AJ Bombers (near the original location) to get cheese curds, tots and a burger. My son got his tots and cheese curds right away and I had to wait about 15 minutes to get my burger as they "ran out" (or that was their explanation after originally saying it would only be a couple minutes)

 

2. It was $1 hotdog / $1 soda day. My son wanted a hot dog and we got it just a few minutes on the 100 level. The stand we were at had 1 person in line.

 

3. During about the 5th inning as we were sitting behind home in the 400 section, my son wanted the ice cream in a helmet and I waited for about 30 minutes. Missed 1.5 innings of the game. They had 1 cashier and 1 "helper" person.

 

I did notice the lines for the new craft beer stands/bars were very short. But I have also been to 19 parks around MLB and rarely do I have to wait for a beer. At $10 a beer, I really shouldn't have to.

 

My sarcastic response is that it seems like they are paying for the concession rebuild by paying less workers. I will be back this Saturday and will see if it's any better.

[JimH5]

I ripped the Brewers earlier in the week for being slow.

 

To their credit, tonight was much faster.

 

I went to the burger stand on the Loge level, all the way down the 3rd base line.

 

No lines, no waiting. The food was fine, an AJ Burger--it was already made, in a clamshell box.

 

I got it around 8:00 p.m. tonight.

[dlk9s]

so JimH5, they only have the self serve squirt area for secret stadium sauce? Maybe I'm thinking of County Stadium where they had the foil pans they'd roll your hot dog/sausage in before putting it in the bun.

 

http://i.imgur.com/rNsMX.gif

[JimH5]

Hmmm... I think Honky might have been messing with me and I was busy with my food reviews.

 

I usually am not so dense. But I do love that sauce.

[bjkrautk]

Went to my first game of the year on Sunday, got there early, and didn't have any trouble with lines for the concessions before the game.

 

Sat down with the family at one of the tables in RF on the loge level, wanted to try the sliced brisket...only to find that the RF Loge location for Smoke shack was closed for the day; the signage posting the closure recommended going to the alternate location on the left field side....which turned out to be on the opposite end of the ballpark. The sandwich turned out to be surprisingly dry; while I did add some sauce from a bottle at the stand, per the vendor's recommendation....I wasn't about to walk back to the stand to put more sauce on after tasting.

 

Still fared better than my brother and mother, whose brats were not warmed.

 

Needless to say, I'm probably back to carry-ins going forward. They didn't improve food quality, so much as they just raised the prices.

[A Swing and A Drive]

I'm not sure how many Brewer fans realize this, but the majority of the Miller Park concession stands are run by volunteers of non-profit organizations as a way to fund raise.

 

These volunteers work their butts off for minimal compensation for their efforts on behalf of these organizations.

 

I have volunteered as part of a fundraising effort in the past. It's one step up from a living hell.

 

After the experience, I would never eat any food product sold from a concession stand at Miller Park ever again.

 

The Brewers PR can try to spin this as a way that they are helping these Non-Profits fund raise.

 

Fans may think that by supporting these concession stands by purchasing overpriced, low quality food at the ballpark they are supporting a good cause.

 

Don't be fooled, by purchasing any food from a concession at Miller Park, you are basically supporting this racket that the Brewers have going that is one step above slave labor.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm not sure how many Brewer fans realize this, but the majority of the Miller Park concession stands are run by volunteers of non-profit organizations as a way to fund raise.

 

These volunteers work their butts off for minimal compensation for their efforts on behalf of these organizations.

 

I have volunteered as part of a fundraising effort in the past. It's one step up from a living hell.

 

After the experience, I would never eat any food product sold from a concession stand at Miller Park ever again.

 

The Brewers PR can try to spin this as a way that they are helping these Non-Profits fund raise.

 

Fans may think that by supporting these concession stands by purchasing overpriced, low quality food at the ballpark they are supporting a good cause.

 

Don't be fooled, by purchasing any food from a concession at Miller Park, you are basically supporting this racket that the Brewers have going that is one step above slave labor.

 

Agree with this. I "volunteered" a few times in college. I've worked in a few different food service jobs and could not believe how unclean and mismanaged these stands were. Our stand manager gave us about 30 seconds of instructions and then ran down the long list of things they would dock our organization money for. Five of us put in 4 hours of work to make about $300. When you included the two hour winter orientation, which is basically just informing you how not to over serve people, it's really a waste of time. The only thing that made it worth it was walking out of the stadium with a few San Francisco Giants since you use the same entrance as the visiting team.

[DocLuna7]

I'm not sure how many Brewer fans realize this, but the majority of the Miller Park concession stands are run by volunteers of non-profit organizations as a way to fund raise.

 

These volunteers work their butts off for minimal compensation for their efforts on behalf of these organizations.

 

I have volunteered as part of a fundraising effort in the past. It's one step up from a living hell.

 

After the experience, I would never eat any food product sold from a concession stand at Miller Park ever again.

 

The Brewers PR can try to spin this as a way that they are helping these Non-Profits fund raise.

 

Fans may think that by supporting these concession stands by purchasing overpriced, low quality food at the ballpark they are supporting a good cause.

 

Don't be fooled, by purchasing any food from a concession at Miller Park, you are basically supporting this racket that the Brewers have going that is one step above slave labor.

 

But don't these organizations still gain something for doing this? I have worked at a stand for a charity before as well. It wasn't the most fun experience but that being said, I think that the term "one step above slave labor" for a few hours worth of work at a ballpark may be a bit overstretching it.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Did the Brewers get rid of the large pretzel? I looked at all the stands on the terrace level where one used to be. I ended up buying a Bavarian pretzel which was cold and horrible. The boxed pretzels that can be microwaved tastes better.

[gypcasino]

 

Needless to say, I'm probably back to carry-ins going forward. They didn't improve food quality, so much as they just raised the prices.

 

Yes. I decided I'll still have a few beers in the park because I really enjoy drinking beer. But the food is really not good. My friend got the braised beef tacos last night & there was like a half inch of liquid on the bottom. I had the chicken nachos and they were OK. The 25% SSH discount made it a bit easier to stomach. A couple weeks ago I got a hot dog and it looked like it was cooked on one side and it was cold and the bun was horrible. I don't mind paying higher prices for even slightly above average food but the chances of getting something borderline inedible doesn't make it worth it.

[MrTPlush]

Unfortunate the food sucks so much at Miller Park. In my experience the stands from an actual business(like AJ Bombers) tend to have decent food. Guessing because such places employ their own workers.

 

Volunteers is no excuse as I am sure most ballparks do that.

[pacopete4]

I don't think people would say too much about the food taste if it wasn't so over priced. That's not changing but if you're going to sell $10 nachos, then they better be really good. Not out of the can cheese with some beef tossed on top.

[Mays Hayes]

Don't be fooled, by purchasing any food from a concession at Miller Park, you are basically supporting this racket that the Brewers have going that is one step above slave labor.

 

Five of us put in 4 hours of work to make about $300.

 

Am I missing something here, they paid $15/hr/volunteer to your organization... that's slave labor? Seems more than fair especially considering it also costs MP money to constantly train the volunteers.... they could be more efficient and profitable hiring their own staff. The non-profits are benefiting from this arrangement, not the Brewers.

[jerichoholicninja]

Don't be fooled, by purchasing any food from a concession at Miller Park, you are basically supporting this racket that the Brewers have going that is one step above slave labor.

 

Five of us put in 4 hours of work to make about $300.

 

Am I missing something here, they paid $15/hr/volunteer to your organization... that's slave labor? Seems more than fair especially considering it also costs MP money to constantly train the volunteers.... they could be more efficient and profitable hiring their own staff. The non-profits are benefiting from this arrangement, not the Brewers.

 

I wasn't the one that said it was slave labor and I wouldn't agree that it is. However we had a manager who treated us like we were veterans at the job and stayed in the back the whole time except to come out and tell us when we did something wrong. Then throw in the sober customers who don't know you're volunteers and treat you like crap when you make a mistake and the obnoxious drunk customers who treat you like crap because they're drunk and it's just a horrible experience.

[hawing]

Did the Brewers get rid of the large pretzel? I looked at all the stands on the terrace level where one used to be. I ended up buying a Bavarian pretzel which was cold and horrible. The boxed pretzels that can be microwaved tastes better.

The Bavarian pretzel you mentioned is the only one I've seen at the park. I haven't had a cold one yet (small sample size : 2), but I miss the variety of toppings that were available. Now it's salted, unsalted (though that's useful for some people's diets and I appreciate that option) or with a cheese cup for an extra $1+.

 

At Tuesday night's game the guest relations ladies we know remarked on how Miller Park is still short on concession employees.

[FVBrewerFan]

I don't think people would say too much about the food taste if it wasn't so over priced. That's not changing but if you're going to sell $10 nachos, then they better be really good. Not out of the can cheese with some beef tossed on top.

 

Yea, and that's why I get as little food as possible. If the food is great, maybe I would be sure to buy item "x" more often. Or if it was cheaper, I would buy nachos, brat, etc. But don't try giving me expensive, bad (or inconsistent quality) at the same time. I literally rather hit the McDonald's drive-through after the game.

[homer]

I'd be curious to know how much people in Milwaukee spend on average versus the rest of the league on concessions.

[gypcasino]

Miller Park vendor's plea to Milwaukee Brewers fans: Beer here, and nowhere else

 

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2017/06/07/vendor/365685001/

 

Milwaukee Brewers fans attending games at Miller Park should get their beer from vendors in the seats — and only there, argues longtime brew purveyor Ryan Strnad...

 

"We're past the point where we are thinking 'enough is enough,' " said Strnad who works in left field loge sections. "Sales in the concourses are hurting our sales..."

Strnad said he plans to challenge the beer license for Sportservice, the company that employs him, when it comes up at City Hall in September. He wants an end of beer sales in the concourses — with the exception of the TGI Fridays restaurant — to be a condition of the license renewal...

[MillerParkSouth]

Well that's a dumb idea. I'll buy from the guys walking around if I don't want to get up, but it's not like they have the most robust selection and sometimes it's a pain to flag them down.

[Dragonbait]

I tend to find most of the in-seat venders annoying as they tend to block my line of sight for too long. Worst offender is the cotton candy.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm assuming the whole issue is because he isn't getting as much in tips but doesn't he work for Sportservice and by blocking the license costing himself a job?

[brwrsfan]

Are the vendors walking around going to start accepting credit cards? And how about the SSH discount you don't get with them?

 

I have a tendency to not carry a ton of cash on me, which leads me to the stands so i can use my debit/credit card. I also want to get my 25% off on the SSH nights. Currently, the walking vendors provide me with neither of those options, which would be a huge issue.

[JimH5]

His sense of entitlement seems silly. I understand that he's not making as much money and probably doesn't like it, but to claim ownership of those sales is dumb. That said, I do think his point about pricing is a fair one. The Brewers are driving people to the concession stands with their prices.

 

But, if a vendor is entertaining/pleasant/friendly/compelling, people will pay extra.

 

As an aisle seat holder in the Family Section, I am often annoyed by beer vendors who hawk their product on our side of the aisle. They should know that we're prohibited from buying beer, but they call out to both sides that they're selling beer.

[JimH5]

With the park more empty than full tonight, I was told by the guy working the Zaffiro's stand that it would be more than a 10 minute wait for a pizza.

 

This was all supposed to be to reduce time spent in line.

 

Mission accomplished. I'll eat on the way home.

[AKCheesehead]

Speaking of concessions, how closely does gate security uphold the "food in see through package" rule for carry ins? Would a sandwich in a paper wrapper be scrutinized? I only have experience bringing many sacks of in shell peanuts.