NEW YORK—The 40/40 Club and Restaurant, the only full-service restaurant in the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, has gradually added “enemy-inspired items” to its menu.
As the Philadephia 76ers come into town to play the Brooklyn Nets, fans can savor Philly cheese-steak sliders at the club, just the latest addition to the menu inspired by locales opposing teams come from.
“Based on the fact that we’re so Brooklyn in the arena, we just wanted to offer something different in terms of the food offerings, where you can come in have a taste of Chicago, a taste of Philadelphia, a taste of Detroit,” Elisa Padilla, vice president of marketing at Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets, told the Wall Street Journal.
Sales in the restaurant, which charges $60 per person, have risen around 25 percent since the promotion started in January, though officials told the Journal they have also embarked on a more aggressive social media promotion campaign during that time.
Other examples of the club using fare typically found in other cities are smoked meats and barbecue (Memphis Grizzlies) and different versions of Mexican food food for the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks.
“Some cities are a lot easier than others because they really have that signature dish like the Philly cheese steak,” Timothy Hmay, executive chef at Barclays Center for Levy Restaurants, told the Journal.
The 40/40 Club was named after one of baseball’s most prestigious achievements—hitting 40 homes runs and stealing at least 40 bases in one season. The other location in New York is 6 West 25th Street. Jay-Z, who owns a minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets, co-owns the chain of clubs.
