Promoting the Local Economy in Sports Arenas

If you have been to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you’ve likely heard of Sobelmans Pub and Grill. Established more than 19 years ago by Dave and Melanie Sobelman, Sobelmans has earned a much-deserved reputation as the purveyor of the best burgers and Bloody Marys – and has grown to three locations in the Milwaukee area.

However, what most fans of the brand may not know is that Sobelmans has a fourth location that can’t be seen from the street. To visit, you have to make your way into the BMO Harris Bradley Center at the intersection of Fourth and State streets and up to the 400-level concourse to find the location, which opened for the first time during the Milwaukee Bucks 2015-2016 basketball season.

“The first game we opened, I was at the [BMO Harris] Bradley Center at 5:00 p.m. with the doors to the arena opening at 5:30 and I knew right then we were going to be slammed,” said Sobelman. “I had to call in full-time restaurant cooks and two servers to come and get the situation handled because we were so backed up.”

On how the partnership came to fruition, Sobelman recalls he was on the phone with a ticket sales representative and was half-joking about having a location in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. When Sobelman went to the arena to meet with his representative, he was greeted by the ticket sales representative and a corporate sales executive to talk about the Sobelmans season tickets and about having a location in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Sobelman attributes this partnership to the ownership of the Milwaukee Bucks organization.

“When I was there picking out my season ticket seats, the team was very, very serious about putting the restaurant in a spot within the arena and told me the owners of the organization were keen on promoting the locally owned businesses of Milwaukee,” Sobelman said. “Originally the location inside the arena was going to be on the main, 200-level concourse; however, that was changed prior to the regular season and we were tucked in a spot on the 400-level.”

Sobelman cannot stress enough how important it is for locally owned businesses in a city to be promoted by recognizable brands like a sports team.

“For a locally owned business, the recognition that stems from being in a sports arena like the BMO Harris Bradley Center is phenomenal,” Sobelman explained. “Customers who otherwise would not have made it to Sobelmans because they are only visiting for the game can experience the burger and the Bloody Mary because it’s more readily available at a blockbuster venue. And hopefully that interests them enough to come into one of our other locations in the future.”

After looking back on the first season in the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Sobelman notes that the location did very well and he was impressed with the success of the location.

Opportunities like being in the BMO Harris Bradley Center for concepts like Sobelmans present a unique type of brand awareness especially helpful for restaurants that are looking to expand their reach to more customers within and outside of their local area.

For Sobelmans, the opportunity to increase brand awareness has never been more opportune. Including the space within the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Sobelmans now boasts four locations and recently launched its franchise opportunity to bring the burger and Bloody Mary haven to new markets across the country. With this kind of momentum, Sobelmans is ready to grow its footprint, starting with the target markets southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. As the brand grows, Sobelmans will always remain true to its roots – with an emphasis on being a community advocate and boosting the local economy.