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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

Flavor-forward foods

We've written much about the growing importance of destination-worthy, flavor-forward, foodie-worthy, globally-inspired food offerings at location-based entertainment venues as part of the total visit experience. The food and drink should never play second fiddle to the attractions and games. In fact, for many of the newer social gaming (competitive gaming) venues, food and beverage is a major draw and makes up the majority of the revenue.

Twin Peaks Chicken Tikka Flatbread

One example of how consumers'' experience and expectations for away-from-home food have risen recently is a menu item that Twin Peaks has recently added. Twin Peaks (twinpeaksrestaurant.com/ ) is what you might describe as a sports bar-restaurant chain known for its lodge-themed decor, scantily-clad servers, and hearty American cuisine. A Twin Peaks location typically features 48 or more HDTVs broadcasting various sports events. The restaurant emphasizes "scratch-made" food, offering a menu that includes both classic pub fare and more adventurous dishes, giving it a broad food appeal.

Twin Peaks' new Chicken Tikka Flatbread hits all the marks for an elevated, flavor-forward, globally inspired food item. The sauce is very approachable, based on chicken tikka, a type of Indian curry known as butter chicken. In addition to the tikka sauce, the flatbread has smoked chicken, mozzarella, Parmesan, pepper Jack cheese, red onion, cilantro, parsley, and crushed red pepper. After it's baked, it's finished with a jalapeño pesto. Using flatbread as the platform and chicken as the protein, both highly familiar to people, makes it very approachable. Members of Gen Z, born after around 1995, are especially looking for flavor-forward food that's spicy but different.

Takeaway

To stay competitive, location-based entertainment venues (LBEs), including family entertainment centers (FECs), need to offer food and beverage offerings that meet peoples' changing and elevated expectations based on what they are experiencing at sports bars and restaurants. Twin Peaks is just one example.

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