There’s no doubt that when the new Meadowlands launches two years hence, the food will be a huge upgrade from the current swill. But will it match the heavenly food court that Citi Field (a.k.a. the new Shea) has in store? No chance, a source close to the action tells us. While both venues are powered by the need to feed luxury-box owners, Citi Field is open to multiple restaurateurs. So not only will there be a Shake Shack and another TBA Danny Meyer restaurant, but Mets fans might also get a Batali-Bastianich joint and a Myriad Restaurant Group offering.
Not so in East Rutherford. In that deal, each one of the big five mega concession companies has partnered with a restaurant group — for example Aramark with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. Whoever wins the bid gets the stadium. That’s bad for the fans, because generally speaking, monopolies tend not to have a ton of incentive; like an all-star point guard with a guaranteed contract, they basically have to just show up and collect their checks. Not that a restaurateur of Danny Meyer’s caliber would cave to inertia, but still. At Citi Field, the food options will be a microcosm of New York City, and with the waiver wire never far away, everybody will be on his A game.
