The new service level at Daytona International Speedway has been a game changer for Americrown, International Speedway Corp.’s food provider at Daytona and 10 of its 11 other tracks.
Previously, Americrown had one small warehouse in an old barn near Turn 2, said Rishi Nigam, the company’s vice president of food and beverage. The inadequate storage space became a customer service issue at Daytona, a track that could hold 150,000 fans before the removal of the backstretch stands this year ultimately shrinks capacity to about 100,000.
The food service improvements for this year transform a portion of the new grandstand’s ground floor into much-needed back-of-house space for Americrown. Around the track, there are now 10 satellite commissaries supporting the 5,000-square-foot main commissary by the start/finish line.
Before the upgrades, it literally could take hours to restock concession stands because of the large crowds, lack of storage space and the old layout, in which only two elevators served the entire track, Nigam said. When the renovation is complete, there will be 17 elevators, six reserved for food service.
“Now we can store stuff locally, replenish quickly and make sure that we don’t have to run very far, which gets the food out faster,” Nigam said.
