Mercedes-Benz Stadium showcases new food ahead of Atlanta Falcons season opener
No matter what happens with the Atlanta Falcons on the football field this season, Mercedes-Benz Stadium continues to dominate the food and beverage game with its unique approach to concessions.
Stadium officials introduced this year’s Falcons menu lineup Tuesday, several days ahead of the team’s home opener against the Carolina Panthers. They highlighted new food items for the season, including a few outrageous dishes like the rack-o-rib volcano and a dangling cowboy rib-eye, as well as the continuation of fan-friendly pricing, which keeps food prices among the lowest at any NFL stadium.
Fans love low food prices at Atlanta Falcons games
The team has not raised prices on popular items like hot dogs, popcorn and sodas since the venue opened nine years ago, executive chef Sam Bishop told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn and bottled water cost $2, as do fountain drinks, which include free self-serve refills. Peanuts, pizza, french fries and nachos cost $3, while 12-ounce domestic beers cost $5.
“We want you to remember the food when you come to the stadium,” senior executive chef Matt Cooper said at Tuesday’s media event. “Something we do different than other stadiums is feature different items every game.”
New food for the 2026 Atlanta Falcons season
A few of those themed items were available to try at the food showcase event, including a gold rush tri-tip sandwich to be served at the San Francisco 49ers game, made with a golden barbecue sauce, and a fried grouper sandwich to be served during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. A Maryland crab mac and cheese will be served at the Baltimore Ravens game.
Other notable food items at the showcase included a birria Mexican pizza, which was more like a gigantic quesadilla in a pizza box, served with limes and cups of dipping consommé; a cowboy rib-eye available in premium suites, which hangs over a bed of roasted potatoes and will be finished with a blowtorch when it’s served; and Dirty Bird wings, hot wings with a special lemon-pepper seasoning called Dirty Bird Dust.
The spectacular rack-o-rib volcano is available to all fans at the Molly B’s concession stand just inside Gate 2 of the stadium. The dish is made by rolling up a whole rack of ribs and pinning it so it forms a cylinder, which is then filled with mac and cheese. It’s served over a bed of potato chips for $24, Bishop told the AJC.
Big wins for Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s concessions
That combination of creativity and low prices continues to resonate with fans. Last month, Mercedes-Benz Stadium was ranked No. 1 for Best Stadium and Best Stadium Food by the USA Today 10Best readers’ choice awards.
“We have been rated No. 1 two years in a row, not just for best stadium, but best stadium food out of all the stadiums in the country,” Cooper said. “That is probably one of the fullest accolades we can get.”
While the prices haven’t changed since the stadium opened in 2017, that doesn’t mean the concessions have stayed exactly the same.
“We spent a lot of time reinventing our hot dog,” Bishop said. “Different hot dog, different bun. We’re testing it to make sure that it can withstand time and temperature. So, that’s not to say we don’t spend a lot of time on our hot dog, too.”
The low prices have a trickle-down effect that leads fans to eat and drink more, and encourages them to try more of the culinary team’s offerings.
“Frankly, it makes our job a lot easier because people are so pleased with the $2 hot dog, they’re willing to try the (grouper) sandwich,” Bishop said. “At a lot of other stadiums, people wouldn’t be open to trying newer, different items because they just want a hot dog and, if the hot dog’s $12, they’re not going to buy anything else.”
Bishop noted that the stadium had a particularly busy summer with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in town. During the soccer tournament, international fans were just as wowed by the concessions as they were by the design and scale of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. According to the chef, the global spotlight highlighted more similarities than differences between the World Cup and NFL fans.
“We were waiting to hear, you know, ‘The European palate prefers smaller portions or prefers different items,’ and that really wasn’t our experience,” Bishop said. “Chicken tenders still sold great.”