Beginning in July, people attending events at the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC) will get a taste of something different.
After a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process, the Baltimore Convention Center selected Levy as their new exclusive food and beverage provider. Levy is a hospitality team of major convention and meeting venues across the country.
The company’s focus will be on elevating and refreshing the food and drinks served at the convention center, and to set downtown Baltimore apart as a destination for world-class events and hospitality.
“We’re beyond thrilled to partner with the Baltimore Convention Center to showcase what makes this city an incredible destination,” Levy CEO Andy Lansing said in a statement. “From the most high-profile national events and corporate meetings to special occasions, we’ll spotlight Baltimore’s food and beverage culture in unique ways. Together, we’ll put Baltimore on the plate for everyone to enjoy great hospitality, collaboration, and celebration.”
In the process, the convention center will end its contract with its current food & beverage provider, Sodexo Live!, which has served the BCC’s visitors since December 2009.
“From the moment I joined the BCC in 2012, Sodexo Live! has been tireless in their efforts to please not only us as their client but every last one of our customers and their guests,” said Mac Campbell, executive director of the Baltimore Convention Center, in a statement. “Regularly going above and beyond to entrench themselves in our city through any number of volunteer initiatives, they have always backed up promise with action. The entire BCC team commends their professionalism, creativity, and high standards. They truly have set the bar high in which we will continue to build upon.”
The BCC and Levy will work together to create menus, dining, and catering throughout the venue, focusing on creative catering for major events that attract visitors to Baltimore. They will prioritize partnerships with local organizations, minority- and women-owned businesses, and sustainability. There will also be a focus on reducing food waste and other green initiatives.
“The potential in the BCC/Levy partnership is almost limitless in Baltimore,” Campbell said. “With the exciting new patron-facing capital improvement concepts to be unveiled in the coming months along with Levy’s bespoke approach to telling the Baltimore story through food, we’ll be ensuring a decade’s worth of guests will return home full but with a hunger to return and explore more of our amazing city.”
Other convention centers to which Levy has brought its culinary services include the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Javits Center in New York, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, and many others. Levy has also welcomed guests at the Kentucky Derby, the Grammy Awards, and the Super Bowl, among other world-class events.
The BCC is located in the Inner Harbor, offering 300,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space, 85,000 square feet of meeting space (50 meeting rooms), and a multifunctional 36,672-square-foot ballroom. It employs more than 150 people, 73% of whom live in Baltimore City.
The Baltimore Convention Center received the 2023 Venue Excellence award, which recognizes top performance in management and operations. “The award honors the convention center for programs that enable conventioneers to make the most of their time in Baltimore while providing models for sustainability and recycling of resources after conventions and conferences are over,” Baltimore Fishbowl writer Ed Gunts reported in July 2023.
Levy is critically acclaimed and considered a market leader in the sports and entertainment hospitality field. It was twice named one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports by Fast Company magazines. Forbes listed as one of the top three Best Employers for Diversity in America, and its portfolio ranges from convention centers to the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, zoos to Coachella, and the All-Star Games of numerous national sports leagues.
