As the San Francisco 49ers celebrate their 80th anniversary, the milestone is extending beyond the field and into the food and hospitality experience at Levi's Stadium. At the 49ers' annual Concessions Showcase, returning local restaurant partners joined a lineup of anniversary-themed food, beverages, desserts, and hospitality experiences.
The local restaurant lineup will be familiar to returning fans at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers confirmed that all featured concession partners at this year's showcase are returning vendors, including Konjoe Burger, Kabob Trolley, Puesto, Toto's Pizzeria and Scratch Cookery.
Senior Executive Chef Alvin Kabiling, now in his third year overseeing the culinary program at Levi's Stadium with Levy Restaurants, said this season's menu was themed around the 49ers' 80th anniversary.
"New and different, exciting, iconic is the word I like to use," Kabiling said. "There's some old, there's some new, but different flavors in regard to vendors, too."
Kabiling also emphasized the importance of the stadium's local restaurant partners.
"They are local partners. We cannot pull off 68,000 fans without them," he said.
That anniversary theme carried over into several of the showcase's featured dishes, including the Sourdough Sam Melt, Gold Rush Rice Bowl, Silva Dynasty Loaded Dog, Tostitos Jerk Chicken Loaded Nachos and Cinna Sundae Smash.
For me, Puesto's pulled pork nachos were one of the standouts among the returning partners. I was also surprisingly impressed by the Cinna Sundae Smash. I'm generally not much of a dessert person, but it was one of the afternoon's more memorable bites.
While food was naturally the centerpiece of the showcase, the event also offered a look at how the 49ers are expanding the broader hospitality experience at Levi's Stadium.
I had the opportunity to tour the new Elevate Club and speak with Dustin Albertson, the 49ers' Executive Vice President of Sales, Service & Ticketing, who helped lead the renovation of the stadium's suites and club spaces and has been closely involved with the development of the concept.
According to Albertson, the space previously served as office space for 49ers staff. After the 49ers relocated those offices outside the stadium, they saw an opportunity to repurpose the area as a premium hospitality space.
Albertson described the Elevate Club as having more of a speakeasy feel, with dimmer lighting and a quieter, more intimate atmosphere than some of the stadium's larger premium spaces. Designed for limited membership, the club can accommodate up to 250 people.
The 49ers gave fans an early look at the concept late last season to gather feedback, with this season marking its official debut.
For fans looking for something a little more low-key on game day, the Elevate Club offers an experience built less around the traditional suite model and more around a private club atmosphere.
As the 49ers celebrate their 80th anniversary, the showcase felt like more than simply a preview of what fans will be eating this season. From returning local partners and anniversary-themed menu items to the debut of the Elevate Club, the organization continues to look for ways to build on the overall game-day experience.
Kabiling summed up that approach by saying the goal is to continue to "elevate food year over year." That same mindset was prominent throughout the afternoon, including inside the Elevate Club, where one phrase stood out: "Gold is not given. It has to be taken"
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