Elevating FEC Food and Beverage to a Higher Level

Four family entertainment center (FEC) principals talked about how they have made their food and beverage operations a great success during the “FEC: Food and Beverage” session. Kyle Allison of Andy’s Altitude 1291, David Novstrup of Allevity Entertainment, Mario Valadez of Conroe’s Incredible Pizza Company, and DJ Hill of Lefty’s Alley & Eats all shared lessons they’ve learned.

Novstrup said his dining room has a capacity of 64, and guests place their orders at a food counter. Allevity offers sliders instead of burgers and dishes like chicken parmesan because they want to be a little different from everyone else. “But we don’t have a chef,” he said, “so we have [cooking equipment] that almost anyone can operate.” He noted he’s recently started serving milkshakes, and they have been very successful.

At Conroe’s Incredible Pizza, Valadez said the facility has buffet dining in a room that was refurbished during a COVID-19 shutdown, and it seats 698 people. “Ninety percent of our food is made from scratch and not prepackaged, and we have a really big kitchen,” he added.
 
One of these FECs—Lefty’s Alley & Eats—has an interesting food and beverage challenge for an FEC. The operation is located in Lewes, Delaware, right on the state’s Culinary Coast. This stretch is famous for quality, high-end food and beverage locations and visitors seeking distinctive dining. “We knew we’d have to have elevated food and beverage to stay competitive,” Hill said. “Currently about 55% of our revenue comes from food and beverage, which I know is pretty high in the FEC world.”

Lefty’s offers a selection of craft cocktails, as well as a craft beer and 15 microbrews on tap, and the options change regularly. The FEC also offers signature milkshakes made by a dairy. But Hill warned, “We definitely undersized our kitchen, and this creates some chaos, so properly size your kitchen.”

When these FECs were asked what they did with their F&B operations during COVID-19, Valadez responded that his had to really scale back its buffet. He said right now, like most other attractions, they are suffering from supply chain problems and just can’t get supplies.

Hill said that people might think he’s crazy, but he believes that COVID-19 turned out to be a positive experience for Lefty’s.

“We had time to rethink things and learned that we had to be very nimble,” he said. “We created an outdoor theater that was very popular and also an outdoor patio. We’ve adjusted to the supplies we can get and are constantly changing our offerings.”

When these FECs were asked if they began using mobile food ordering, Allison responded, “I have a very strong opinion on this—I don’t like it. We want to drive strong guest service, and you just can’t personally serve guests as well with mobile ordering compared with a [dining room]. We want to give a high-end food experience.” Allison’s response was seconded by the others on the panel.