RICHMOND, Va. — Food and baseball are so intertwined that the iconic baseball song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” brings up food before it ever mentions balls and strikes.
The Richmond Flying Squirrels draw thousands of baseball fans to the Diamond on Arthur Ashe Boulevard each game and it’s Josh Barban‘s job to make sure every fan goes home well fed.
“Not only do we feed 6,200 fans a game, we go from business clientele, like in the suites, to the ballpark fan. So we cover a lot of different aspects of the food industry,” Barban said. “We have something for everybody. We want to cover all walks of life.”
Barban, who also has a background in sales and marketing, told Eat It, Virginia hosts Scott and Robey how he’s used those skills to attract more people to the ballpark, not just for baseball — but also to eat.
“Food has always been kind of the hallmark of the baseball experience,” he said, “I remember smelling the fried onions on the flat top grill when you first get to the ballpark. The smell of a burger cooking. It just feeds your interest.”
Listen to catch Barban’s thoughts on:
Must-try Diamond dishes
“Foul” stadium food ideas
How Richmond’s craft brew scene has changed drinking at the Diamond
Would a new stadium would improve the food at Flying Squirrels’ games
In our Eat It, Virginia! podcast sommelier segment, Booth Hardy from Barrel Thief explains why he’s pairing Veritas Vineyard & Winery’s Mousseux with the American Cheese Society’s award-winning Professor’s Brie cheese from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in Old Chatham, New York.
Other topics discussed include:
The Hot List of Richmond restaurants people are talking about this month.
A preview of Richmond’s premiere food event Fire, Flour & Fork.
People, places, and products mentioned in this podcast:
Ardent
Baja Bean
Barrel Thief
Cary Street Cafe
Center of the Universe
Cooper’s Hawk
Dinner on the Infield
Fire, Flour & Fork
Milton’s Local
Sanderling Resort
Scuffletown Garden
Soul Taco
Veritas Vineyards & Winery
Wegmans
