The Pittsburgh Penguins have teamed up with Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp. to test what the organizations described as "the latest innovation" in food locker delivery systems.
These food lockers, which have since been installed at the Ford Food Garage inside PPG Paints Arena — home of the Penguins and where Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) serves as the arena's exclusive food and beverage concessionaire — operate as part of a self-service concept, allowing those who are attending a Penguins home game to order food and beverage options on their smartphone for later pickup in one of the 24 temperature-controlled food lockers.
The dual-chamber lockers will aim to keep food and beverage orders at the appropriate temperature until a customer comes to retrieve them, ensuring items like chilled cocktails remain cool and heated food is served hot.
“The Penguins are constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance and improve our fans’ experience at PPG Paints Arena through our partnership with Aramark,” Kevin Acklin, chief operating officer and general counsel for the Penguins, said in a release. “Our new Ford Lounge mobile lockers allow for food and drink orders to be conveniently placed on your phone using our Penguins app technology and picked up at a convenient time so fans don’t miss any on-ice action.”
The concept's backend will be powered by Wayzata, Minnesota-based Cargill's Chekt system as well as Pasadena, California-based Tapin2’s mobile order fulfillment software, all of which touts a new and exclusive menu for attendees to pick from upon selecting the "Ford Food Garage" tile option that is found within the Penguins app. Upon virtual checkout, customers will then be sent a confirmation text followed by another one later that alerts them when their order is ready. At that point, customers will then go pick up their order, and upon arrival, text "here" to the number that sent them the confirmation message, which will allow the locker with their respective order to light up and unlock.
“As consumer preferences continue to evolve — leaning towards faster, on-demand, and contactless self-service models — we are excited to offer hockey fans at PPG Paints Arena the latest in mobile ordering innovation,” Alicia Woznicki, vice president of design and development at Aramark Sports and Entertainment, said in the release.
Customers will be able to test the new concept at the Penguins next home game on March 11 at 7 p.m., when the Pens host the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
