Levy Restaurants Inks Deal To Cater To SMI's Racing Crowd

Chicago-based Levy Restaurants yesterday signed a 20-year, $800M deal to "provide food and catering services at six" Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI)-owned racetracks, according to Ellen Almer of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Levy President & COO Andy Lansing called the company's move into auto racing, "a huge, huge deal for us, and a natural expansion of what we've done in horseracing." In June, Levy signed a deal to provide food services to Churchill Downs. Levy's prior catering deals had been "mainly with [NBA] arenas," such as Conseco Fieldhouse, and MLB ballparks, such as Bank One Ballpark. Almer noted that with SMI's race tracks attracting more than 3.5 million visitors annually, "the latest deal is expected to generate $40[M] a year in revenues." SMI's six racing venues include Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway, TX Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Levy is expected to begin service operations next season (CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS, 12/3).