Jeremy Tripp

I want to talk about food. People are often surprised by how involved our product + technology team is with our restaurant partners. On the surface, you might think our job stops at "make sure the POS works". In reality, we work alongside our restaurant partners almost as closely as our concessionaire does. These are local small businesses running their own restaurants 365 days a year, but only 17 days a year inside Energizer Park. They’re artists in the kitchen. But a stadium is a very different canvas, and a soccer fan is a different subject than a typical customer during Tuesday lunch rush. Tech is of course part of the story. We manage menu data across POS, kiosks, menu boards, and app. We ensure every device in the building is powered, online, updated, and configured. We’ve built internal tools so partners can manage stockouts and request resupplies in real time. But the real value we provide lives in understanding 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧. I got my start in product at Panera during the Panera 2.0 era, and nearly everything I learned traces back to the psychology of quick-service experiences. My whole team has similar backgrounds, but from different angles. Which makes us...pretty dangerous when it comes to helping 25 local restaurant partners execute at stadium scale. If that experience taught me anything, it's that 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹. When people feel rushed or judged, they simplify their decisions. They order the safe thing. They skip the add-ons. But when you give people control, something changes. They slow down. They explore. They feel confident. That’s why we invested early in mobile order ahead. Five years ago, everyone told us it wasn’t worth it. Most stadiums were seeing 1–2% of sales through mobile. Today, mobile represents roughly 30% of orders in our building. Fans don’t want to miss match moments waiting in line. But they do want the ability to order when they want, at their pace, and pick up on their schedule. That sense of 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 shows up in the numbers. Mobile orders run about 10% higher average checks and 10% higher tips than traditional POS. It also helps us smooth halftime demand by letting fans order before or after the rush. It makes me so happy when fans tell me about their mobile ordering routine like it's a secret matchday hack. In my mind, I know it’s just behavior we designed for. 😊 Part 2 tomorrow: how people eat with their eyes first and the secret food photo studio in the basement of the stadium. 👀 And if you like behind-the-scenes sports tech non-sense, drop me a follow. I try to post this kind of stuff weekly.