Salem Memorial Ballpark offers up more than just your basic hot dog

If Tim Anderson had written the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” he probably would’ve asked for more than peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

Instead, that line might have gone something like “Buy me some smoked wings and cold craft beer” or
“Buy me a pizza and milkshake, dear.”

Anderson, 52, who is in his second year as food and beverage manager for the Salem Red Sox, understands the appeal of standards such as nachos and popcorn. Nevertheless, he wanted to start this season with the most varied food options the ballpark has boasted since it opened in August 1995.

“We just want to make it better,” he said. “We want for people to be able to get what they want.”

Anderson, a graduate of Staunton River High School and Radford University, was the food and beverage manager for the Roanoke Civic Center for 12 years. He said he spent the first year in his new job “laying the groundwork” for this year’s concessions changes.

This season just began April 12, but Red Sox Vice President and General Manager Todd Stephenson said fans have been pleased about the new offerings.

“The reviews we’ve been getting are very good,” he said. “You always want options. We like to tell people we have something for everyone.”

Familiar fare

For several years, Salem Memorial Ballpark has had an outdoor grill area where fans could buy premium burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches. Now, the grill is being sponsored by Bull & Bones Brewhaus and Grill of Blacksburg.

Mark Shrader, a co-owner of Bull & Bones, said they were first contacted by the Red Sox to talk about advertising at games. That conversation blossomed into selling beer and food at the ballpark.

Wings and BBQ are smoked at the restaurant’s First and Main shopping center location in Blacksburg, then taken to Salem for the games. Two of the restaurant’s beers, Maroon Effect and Sunlit Wit, are on tap at the outdoor grill, and Shrader said a third, their new Appalachian Ale, will soon be available.

Among other offerings there are deluxe burgers such as the mushroom Swiss or the “black & bleu,” several grilled chicken sandwiches and an option to build your own burger or grilled chicken sandwich with toppings that include guacamole, sauteed onions and peppers, jalapenos and cole slaw.

Chicken tenders were already the biggest selling menu item at the ballpark, Anderson said, but in a deal with Bojangles franchisee Stan Seymour, the stadium now carries Bojangles Homestyle Chicken Tenders with Bojangles BBQ, honey mustard or ranch sauce. They are available in the main concession area near the ballpark entrance.

Seymour, a big Salem Red Sox fan who owns five Bojangles restaurants in the Roanoke Valley, said the tenders are an “excellent,” kid-friendly option because they aren’t spicy.

“Brand-name food always helps because you know what you’re getting,” he said.

Other additions

A baseball game would not be complete without hot dogs, and while customers can still buy a basic dog at a Red Sox game, they can also get a gourmet all-beef hot dog at Swine Drive Deli Dawgs, one of the new concession stands.

Anderson said they will have a list of six to 10 specialty hot dogs on any given night, but with about 50 different recipes they’ll be able to change the list frequently.

Examples include the Boston with baked beans, mustard and onions; the Southwest with jalapenos, Southwest sauce, guacamole and shredded cheese; or the Midwest Twister, a bacon-wrapped hot dog with blue cheese crumbles and onions.

At The Roman Umpire, another new stand, fans will be able to buy 12-inch pizzas, which offer families a better value than slices, Anderson said. Whole pies are available with cheese or pepperoni, but he hopes to soon offer specialty pizzas that can be delivered to customers in their seats. The Roman Umpire menu also includes subs stuffed with meatballs, steak and other goodies.

Besides the Bull & Bones beers, adults may wash down their meals with beer from The River Company in Radford, Devil’s Backbone in Charlottesville, Big Daddy’s in Roanoke or Roanoke Railhouse. For younger fans, there are seven different milkshake flavors available at The Sweet Spot, which already served hand-dipped Hershey’s ice cream.

Anderson said he wants to add sundaes to that menu and spruce up the ice cream stand.

“We’re going to build the stand out on the inside,” he said, “so when you look in there it looks kind of like you’re looking into an ice cream parlor.”

‘Ease of service’

In an effort to match quality food with good service, the Red Sox have upgraded the ordering technology for luxury suites at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

Whereas waitstaff used to have to take orders by hand and enter them at a shared terminal, they now enter them on tablets, which send orders directly to concessions for filling. As a result, Anderson said, it only took about five minutes to deliver food to 26 children at a recent evening game.

They don’t plan to expand that technology this year, but Anderson said it allows the possibility of someday having a smartphone app that would let fans order food from their seats. That would be as easy as perusing a menu, placing an order, paying for it with a credit card and having the order delivered directly to your seat.

“It makes the ease of service to where you could literally not have to get up,” he said.

Anderson knows when it comes down to it, watching the game is the main reason people come to the ballpark. While he enjoys the creative process of coming up with these new menu items, he wants more than anything to make it easy for fans to get what they want and get back to the game.

In concessions, “everything is fast-paced,” he said. “People don’t want to be standing in line missing what they paid to see.”

On the blog Do you use restaurant apps? Take the poll at blogs.roanoke.com/fridgemagnet.

Weather Journal

3 hours ago

1. Defense heeds the call as Virginia Tech squeaks out win over ECU 

2. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

3. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

4. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

5. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

6. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

7. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football 

8. Blacksburg lawyer Painter’s bond revoked

9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

10. Principal who guided Patrick Henry through integration dies