Chicago based Levy once again took center court this month with the annual US Open 2019 Tennis event. The two weeks which fitting runs on the former World’s Fair grounds in Queens not only brings the top names in tennis but a collection of many of Metro New York’s leading chefs.
Between the concessions, Food Village and various restaurants in and around Arthur Ashe Stadium, there is no shortage of tantalizing culinary experiences at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the 2019 US Open. The USTA and hospitality partner Levy introduced many of the dining options at a gathering at Aces restaurant, located in Arthur Ashe Stadium just prior to this year’s tournament.
“We’re building restaurants unparalleled,” said Ed Brown, who opened Aces when the stadium first opened in 1997 and is now food consultant to the USTA. “Forget about sporting events, these restaurants can be supported in any city at any time. The concession stands being run by the group of chefs we’ve assembled over the years… we keep bringing more of these guys into the fold. The USTA supports that, and I think it shows in the quality—not only of being a world-class tennis event but a world-class food event.”
There are several new food offerings throughout the grounds. Brown, a Michelin Star recipient himself, said choosing his favorites is like being asked to choose your favorite child, but he did come up with a few highlights.
“This year, in particular, I’m really thrilled to have Benjamin Steakhouse,” he said. “These guys do a great job. Very interesting that for the first year here they’ve taken out their entire staff—every single person working in that place, which is about 100 people.”
New concessions that can be found in the Food Village include Butterfly, featuring tacos, tortas and ceviche from celebrity chef and three-time James Beard Foundation recipient Jose Andrés.
“I’m here to enjoy great tennis… and great food,” said Andrés, sampling some of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s sushi while talking to the media. “Stadium food has improved over the years,” Andres said between mouthfuls. “I remember being a young boy going to Barcelona Stadium in Spain. We would eat hot dogs. Take a look now, 35-40 years later. Take a look at the diversity you see here—it’s very unpredictable. It’s the least we can do, to make sure food is a big part of (the experience). There’s a lot of thinking behind it.”
Brown said the USTA’s mission when it comes to food is to always be “on trend,” even when it comes to something like sandwiches. “One of the big, exciting things around the grounds is Tom Colicchio with Wichcraft,” he said. “Tremendous sandwiches. We got him to add a lobster roll to the program—actually he’s doing a lobster BLT. So that’ll be exciting.” Other new vendors for 2019 include: Dumpling Galaxy, OakBerry (acai bowls) and Mojito by David Burke (serving Cuban-Asian-American fusion).
Overall, 2019 US Open Executive Chef Jim Abbey and a culinary team of 250 prepare cuisine across five restaurants, 60 concession stands and 90 suites. Some of the staggering numbers when it comes to food that will be served:750,000 melon balls (mostly in Grey Goose Honey Deuce cocktails), 90,000 pounds of beef, 9,000 pounds of lobster, 5 tons of crab, shrimp and lobster, 400,000 individual berries, 225,000 hamburgers and hot dogs, 5 tons of lettuce and 66,000 bananas.
Levy is a restaurant company based in Chicago specializing in providing vending and food services to major entertainment and sports venues. Founded in 1978, with a single family-run delicatessen in Water Tower Place, since 2006, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Britain’s Compass Group. It operates over 100 foodservice locations in 41 markets throughout the US and Canada. In 2004, company revenue exceeded $470 million, and by 2017 had exceeded $1.5 billion in revenue. The company also owns several restaurants in addition to its sports and entertainment venue concessions. Learn more at their website.
