It is almost time to open the gates and the aroma of fried chicken and coleslaw is filling the back of the Gold Rush Chicken stand at the Fiserv Forum. You can hear the chicken sizzling on the fryer and many sandwiches getting prepared for a busy night at the Bucks game.
The Fiserv Forum is in its inaugural season and is home to major events and concerts and the Milwaukee Bucks but that is not the only “Milwaukee thing” inside. The brand new NBA arena is giving many local food and beverage vendors the opportunity to showcase their items. With local restaurants like Gold Rush Chicken, Sobelman’s, The Laughing Taco, Canal Street Pizza, and Iron Grate BBQ being featured inside the Forum, there is new opportunity for these small local businesses to expand their customer base.
Gold Rush Chicken has been a Milwaukee staple for many years. The Mullarkey family has catered to locals on the corner of 27th St. and North Avenue and they are now expanding their business to the new arena. John Mullarkey was the eldest in the family and founder of the restaurant before he died in March.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for us as a local business” said Brennan Mullarkey, the youngest son in the Mullarkey family.
“We are lifelong Bucks fans and we feel honored to continue to serve our great community of Milwaukee inside this building,” he added.
Gold Rush Chicken will feature some of its main items such as the chicken, coleslaw and the chicken sausage sandwich but does not feature its full menu yet. Mullarkey hopes that will change.
“I hope we can expand some of the selections there in the future as it would be nice to add things like our ribs, seafood, and ice cream,” he said.
It will be a challenge for the Mullarkey family to go from serving at their two locations to expanding their distribution inside the arena but it is a challenge they are ready for.
“We think stressing the focus on local flavor of Milwaukee will help the Bucks carve out a niche downtown that can connect the city,” said Joe Metz, a ticket sales and service representative for the Bucks.
The Bucks acknowledge that though this could raise some new challenges for some of these businesses, Metz believes it is a good opportunity to expedite the growth in their companies.
The Bucks sales team has seen a rapid increase of ticket sales in the Fiserv Forum’s inaugural season. One big aspect is the complete reboot of the food and service distribution from the local favorites that are being offered.
“We aren’t just serving pretzels, nachos, and popcorn anymore. We have such a wide variety of local foods for fans to enjoy,” he said.
“The amount of inbound sales these restaurants are going to have inside the arena will increase more foot traffic in their permanent locations,” he added.
Sobelman’s Pub and Grill is another local restaurant that is selling its food inside the Fiserv. Dave and Melanie Sobelman have been serving Milwaukee residents since 1999 and are looking forward to expanding their business. There is more than one Sobelman’s location inside the Fiserv and there are many food options for fans.
“It is incredible to see the surge of importance on these great local businesses from the Bucks in our city,” said Dave Sobelman.
Sobelman’s has many of their signature favorite burgers available inside the arena and is just one of many local businesses merging with the Bucks.
Kenneth Hardiman is the senior executive chef for the Fiserv Forum and is in charge of all Food and Beverage operations inside the building.
Hardiman was previously the Chef of one of Milwaukee’s most famous restaurants Mason Street Grill and is excited for this opportunity to bring the local flavor inside the building.
“The opportunities are endless as it is a great tool for these restaurants to gain more exposure then what they’ve had before,” said Hardiman.
Hardiman also explained the importance of establishing good relationships with the vendors such as Gold Rush Chicken. The Bucks value places like Gold Rush who have been open to the Milwaukee public since 1957.
“The Mullarkey family has been very helpful and involved in the development of this process,” said Hardiman.
“We want to make sure were representing what they have done for their community and what their father did and what he stood for,” he added.
It seems as if this aspect of local food inside major sports arenas is becoming a trend not only in Milwaukee but nationally as well. Chris Bigelow has been a foodservice consultant for over 30 years and is seeing the local food businesses taking over these stadiums.
Bigelow explains that though regular food options are still available such as hot dogs, beer, and nachos, the local food vendors offering their unique items in these major sports arenas and it is paying dividends.