D.C. United announced Thursday afternoon that Levy, in conjunction with Chef Jose Andres, will oversee the food and drink inspirations at the Black-and-Red’s home at Audi Field when it opens in 2018. In D.C., Levy has a partnership with their sixth MLS franchise (the others being the LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake, Atlanta United and Columbus Crew SC), and they also handle concession options for FedEx Field (home of the Washington Redskins), Verizon Center (home of the Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics and Washington Capitals) and Nats Park (home of the Washington Nationals).
It is Andres’ involvement that proves to be the most appealing aspect. The owner of several restaurants in the city including Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinya and minibar, (the latter of which receiving two Michelin stars), Andres’ love of soccer (an FC Barcelona fan, no doubt from his growing up in Spain) combined with his love of the city would seem to be a perfect fit for him and for the fans of the new stadium.
This quietly is another in a recurring line of collaborations with local food merchants for D.C. as well. The team worked with DC Brau to launch a beer in 2014 (which our own Donald Wine selected the name for) and Ben Olsen worked with Vigilante Coffee Roasters to develop a canned cold brew coffee that was sold in 2016, and Vigilante served coffee to attendees at the recent stadium groundbreaking. The team has also mentioned working with local vendors such as Bluejacket and Churchkey for projects at the stadium.
Considering Andres’ origins in the Asturias province, that we perhaps see the debut of in-stadium cachopo in Major League Soccer. And don’t worry, Andres already has an answer for the question you’re all going to ask:
@kasafc pupusas will always be there!
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) March 2, 2017