Levy Restaurants

Last updated
Levy
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry Hospitality
Founded1978
FounderLarry Levy
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area served
North America
Key people
Andy Lansing
(President and CEO)
Tom Funk
(Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer)
Rob Ellis
(Executive Vice President and CFO)
Jeff Wineman (Executive Vice President Of Business Development)
Products Food and Beverage, Retail
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$ 1.5 billion (2017) [1]
Number of employees
50,000
Website

Levy is a restaurant and hospitality company based in Chicago specializing in providing food and beverage 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. [2]

Contents

It operates over 200 sports and entertainment venues 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. [3] The company also owns and operates several restaurants in addition to its sports and entertainment venue concessions.

History

The company was founded in Chicago, IL in 1978 by Larry Levy of St. Louis. The first property was D.B. Kaplan's Delicatessen in Chicago's Water Tower Place. [4] In 1982, the company pioneered the concept of fine dining in stadiums and arenas with award-winning restaurants and foodservice locations at Chicago's Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox) and again in 1985 in Chicago's Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs.) In 1989, the company was selected by The Walt Disney Company to own and operate two locations inside their world-famous Walt Disney World Resort, Terralina Crafted Italian and Paddlefish. Levy was also a partner in the former Wildhorse Saloon location at Walt Disney World. The Terralina Crafted Italian's has consistently been voted best Italian restaurant in Orlando. Paddlefish has achieved one of the top ten sales volumes of any restaurant in the United States. In 1994 they added their first location outside Chicago. The company also created and implemented the WOCAAT (Winning One Customer At A Time) training philosophy.

Locations

Levy's sports and entertainment division manages convention facilities, concert and performance venues and arenas for all major sports leagues. They currently manage food service operations inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY; Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO; Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN; Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV; Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA; STAPLES Center and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles; American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL; American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX; Nationals Stadium, Audi Field in Washington, D.C., as well as Fedex Field in Landover MD, Ford Field in Detroit, MI; Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field, and the United Center in Chicago, IL; Impact Field in Rosemont, IL; The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY; Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ; Moda Center in Portland, OR; Providence Park in Portland, OR; Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC; Toyota Center in Houston, TX, among many others nationwide. They also manage all food service operations at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL and multiple establishments inside Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Levy manages all food service operations for Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Levy also operates at TD Place Arena and TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Canada, respective homes of the Ottawa 67's and Ottawa Redblacks.

Levy operates the restaurant Maddon's Post as a partnership between Chef Tony Mantuano and former Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon. [5]

Restaurants

In addition to its role as the food & beverage provider at sports and entertainment venues, Levy operates several standalone restaurants.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Cubs</span> Major League Baseball franchise in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago's North Side. They are one of two major league teams based in Chicago, alongside the American League (AL)’s Chicago White Sox. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrigley Field</span> Baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. The stadium currently seats 41,649 people and is the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, as a Los Angeles ballpark with the same name opened in 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake View, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

Lakeview, also spelled Lake View, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest Chicago community area by population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrigley Rooftops</span> Apartments by Wrigley Field, Chicago

Wrigley Rooftops is a name for the sixteen rooftops of residential buildings which have bleachers or seating on them to view baseball games or other major events at Wrigley Field. Since 1914 Wrigley roofs have dotted the neighborhood of Wrigleyville around Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play Major League Baseball. Venues on Waveland Avenue overlook left field, while those along Sheffield Avenue have a view over right field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cubs–White Sox rivalry</span> Major League Baseball cross-town rivalry in Chicago

The Cubs–White Sox rivalry refers to the Major League Baseball (MLB) geographical rivalry between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are a member club of MLB's National League (NL) Central division, and play their home games at Wrigley Field, located on Chicago's North Side. The White Sox are a member club of MLB's American League (AL) Central division, and play their home games at Guaranteed Rate Field, located on Chicago's South Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Springs</span> Shopping mall in Florida, U.S.

Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando. First opened in 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, it has been expanded and rebranded over the years as Walt Disney World Village (1977), Disney Village Marketplace (1989), and Downtown Disney (1997), becoming Disney Springs in 2015. A similar complex is being developed on the opposite side of Walt Disney World called Flamingo Crossings.

ESPN Zone was a theme restaurant and entertainment center chain in the United States that included arcades, TV studios, and radio studios, operated by the Disney Regional Entertainment subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts using the Disney-owned ESPN brand. While the ESPN Zone name is no longer used, similar, the ESPN Grill at ESPN Wide World of Sports is located within the Walt Disney World complex in Bay Lake, Florida with counter service and light theming. ESPN Club at Disney's BoardWalk Resort closed in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anschutz Entertainment Group</span> American company

The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports events. Under the AEG Presents brand, it is the world's second-largest presenter of live music and entertainment events, after Live Nation. AEG Presents was founded in 2002 as AEG Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware North</span> American food service and hospitality company

Delaware North is an American multinational food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worldwide and has over $3.2 billion in annual revenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasure Island (Walt Disney World)</span> Former part of the Walt Disney World Resort

Pleasure Island was an area of the Downtown Disney shopping, dining and entertainment district at Walt Disney World Resort. It officially opened on May 1, 1989. In September 2008, all of its clubs were closed, but its retail stores and restaurants remained open. The area is now called The Landing and is the central part of Disney Springs.

Grant M. DePorter is a restaurateur from Chicago, U.S., who came to prominence in 2004 after he paid US$113,824.16 for a baseball which had played a role in the Chicago Cubs defeat in the 2003 National League Championship Series, and had the ball destroyed in a nationally televised event. The event was an attempt to end the "Curse of the Billy Goat" – which has supposedly prevented the Cubs from winning the National League since 1945 and also helped raise a substantial amount of money for diabetes research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Maddon</span> American baseball coach and manager

Joseph John Maddon is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex</span> Sports complex in Walt Disney World

The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a 220-acre (89 ha) multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to vacation destinations in the area. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur sporting events throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Weeghman</span> German-American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive

Charles Henry Weeghman was a German American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club in 1911, he became one of the founders of the upstart Federal League in 1913 as the owner of the Chicago Whales. In 1914, he built the baseball stadium that would later be known as Wrigley Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Chicago</span>

Sports in Chicago include many professional sports teams. Chicago is one of eleven U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports. Chicago has been named as the "Best Sports City" by Sporting News three times: 1993, 2006, and 2010.

Comcast Spectacor is an American sports and entertainment company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, the Seoul Infernal of the Overwatch League, and formerly owned the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. The company owns and manages the Wells Fargo Center and formerly managed the Spectrum in South Philadelphia, plus several community skating rinks in the Philadelphia region. The Comcast SportsNet (CSN) regional sports networks were also owned by Comcast Spectacor prior to parent company Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in January 2011; CSN is now operated through NBC Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feld Entertainment</span> American live show production company

Feld Entertainment Inc. is an American live show production company which owns a number of traveling shows. The company began with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus then expanded into additional live events, including Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and Sesame Street Live. The company is family owned.

The history of Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball's National League, begins well before the Cubs played their first game in that venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Chicago Cubs season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 2015 Chicago Cubs season was the 144th season for the franchise, the 140th in the National League and the 100th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Joe Maddon in his first year as Cubs manager and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of the National League Central.

Since purchasing the Chicago Cubs baseball team and Wrigley Field in 2009, the Ricketts family have been pursuing an extensive renovation of the stadium and the surrounding venue. At its outset, the 1060 Project was projected to cost $575 million and was to be completed in four phases during consecutive off-seasons. Funding was generated from advertising revenue and increased corporate sponsorship in the form of additional signage placed in and around the stadium.

References

  1. "Chicago Business Journal". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  2. Channick, Robert (January 31, 2019). "From a Chicago deli to the Super Bowl: How two brothers built a food industry powerhouse". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  3. . "Levy Restaurants".
  4. Levy Restaurants History and Heritage 2005 Archived 2006-06-30 at the Wayback Machine . "Levy Restaurants."
  5. Selvam, Ashok (20 March 2019). "Cubs' Joe Maddon and Spiaggia's Tony Mantuano Reveal Name of Wrigley Restaurant". Eater Chicago.