The Atlanta Braves are expecting about 100,000 visitors to Truist Park and The Battery over the course of the 2025 MLB All-Star Game festivities, and the organization announced plans to feed that crowd Wednesday.
“You only get a chance to host these events about every 25 to 30 years, so these are incredibly special,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller said at a media event at Truist Park.
MLB All-Star Week will take over the Braves’ home stadium and The Battery from July 11-15, including events like the Home Run Derby, All-Star Futures Game, a celebrity softball game and more, concluding with the All-Star Game next Tuesday.
In anticipation of so many visitors from out of town, Truist Park executive chief Jaco Dreyer and concession vendor Delaware North created several specialty items highlighting the culinary staples of Atlanta, Georgia and the South.
Most specialty menu items, like fried green tomato sliders and birria hot dogs, will only be available in certain sections. But a special pimento cheese dipping sauce will be available around the stadium wherever Bavarian pretzels are sold.
Some premium spaces will serve upscale dishes like carved tomahawk ribeye, jumbo lump crabcakes and charcuterie boards. Daseki, a Japanese restaurant in the Xfinity Club, will hold a bluefin tuna carving demo.
Ahead of MLB All-Star Week, the Braves introduced several food-focused sustainability initiatives. One of those, the rooftop tower garden, is already producing fresh herbs and leafy greens - up to 56 plants per week.
The hydroponic garden was just introduced in April but produces the lettuce featured on the Down the Bay burger, Dreyer told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That burger, one of the All-Star specialty items, has a patty made with a combination of ground beef and mushrooms, and is topped with a fried soft-shell crab.
The Braves have also expanded recycling and composting and improved their food rescue program. The team recaptures unused proteins from 23 concession stands across the ballpark, nearly quadrupling the number from 2023. Last year, the team donated nearly 61,000 pounds of food, but more is expected this year, according to the news release. Truist Park also now serves nearly all alcoholic beverages in aluminum cups rather than plastic.
Delaware North has beefed up staffing at the ballpark, the announcement said, as is standard practice for major events. The increased labor force will include robots at the Blue Moon Brewery & Grill and in the Delta Club, where they will help deliver food and bus tables.
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