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Food & Beverage: The Aramark Era begins

I don't get why food options are Towers are still so poor. Food and drink is a big money maker for any theme park, and diversification in this is surely going to drive more income than just having the same boring options all around the park. Turn some of the takeaway kiosks in to more interesting street food options for example, that is very on trend at the moment.

There seems to be no desire from management to do anything about it. A bit like with the Retrosquad rides, they are happy the way things are and probably see changing things as too much of a risk. It is a pity.
 
Rob said:
I don't get why food options are Towers are still so poor. Food and drink is a big money maker for any theme park, and diversification in this is surely going to drive more income than just having the same boring options all around the park. Turn some of the takeaway kiosks in to more interesting street food options for example, that is very on trend at the moment.

There seems to be no desire from management to do anything about it. A bit like with the Retrosquad rides, they are happy the way things are and probably see changing things as too much of a risk. It is a pity.
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Totally agree. Food & Beverage is a huge profit centre. Given McDonalds as an example - that medium Big Mac meal costs little over £1 in terms of ingredients, staff & electricity costs. Look what they sell it to you for.

Other theme parks like Disney & the German parks really push the boat out on food & beverage. Yes, you pay the price for it, but it's worthwhile - you don't think you're paying £10 for a burger and fries.
 
I feel like I need to roll out my "They have the numbers" argument. Merlin have (and do) run attractions where F&B is outsourced, they've done a lot of insourcing too - this is a reversal of that, of sorts.

For whatever reason, they have concluded that they don't want the hassle of doing it themselves. There are potential pros and cons to both models for both the business and consumers.

I think that, in part, as the Merlin business has grown, they perhaps got to a position where they don't want an infinite number of people on the payroll. That creates a number of complexities but also means that when times get tough, your ability to respond to those situations is sometimes hampered.

Do we know what the model is with Aramark ? I.e. are they providing an end to end service for Merlin ? Are they tenants within the parks paying Merlin rent or a profit share ? There's all sorts of models that could be in play.
 
AstroDan said:
Observation:

None of the food photos on the ATR website are representative of what's actually available.
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Agreed. I feel like this should be a feature of this thread in 2023.

I went to Pizza Pasta expecting ....

pizzapasta.jpg


... But was presented with <insert photo> ... that inevitably looked like the aftermath of some kind of surgery.
 
The time when very briefly, Splash Landings did amazing food. This was when the buffet wasn't operating (which helps me as I really don't like buffet food for a number of reasons). This is the best menu I've seen at any park the UK
 

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Has there always been a Burger Kitchen takeaway in Mutiny Bay? Or is it new for this year? Noticed it on the map but I don't remember seeing it when there. I know there used to be one in FV.
 
Skyscraper said:
Has there always been a Burger Kitchen takeaway in Mutiny Bay? Or is it new for this year? Noticed it on the map but I don't remember seeing it when there. I know there used to be one in FV.
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Always been there, on the corner opposite the Sharkbait Reef Shoppe and near the Katanaga Canyon sign and remote control boats. Was a McDonalds and Burger King before, so been there 25+ years.

Here it is on streetview https://goo.gl/maps/YKpp3xjfXHZw2wsKA
 
The new food outlet in Gloomy Wood has been added to the app, giving more info on what will be served there.

BA6D27F9-2ADC-467C-9BD9-3F6868902864.jpeg
 
Based on that description, I’m thinking that Coach House Confectionary might be something similar to the new Cadbury’s Chocolate Lodge at Thorpe Park.
 
jon81uk said:
Always been there, on the corner opposite the Sharkbait Reef Shoppe and near the Katanaga Canyon sign and remote control boats. Was a McDonalds and Burger King before, so been there 25+ years.

Here it is on streetview https://goo.gl/maps/YKpp3xjfXHZw2wsKA
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Up to the end of 1997, I seem to recall this food unit was an in-house one run by Towers F&B.
Then in 1998 the "Brand Partners" of McDonalds, KFC & Pizza Hut arrived - it was a McDonalds from 1998 to end of 2007 season. Burger Kind then arrived for a few years until they walked away. Then Merlin took over with their own high-quality* internal brands.

NB: * = joke.
 
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