State Farm Arena adding Bocado Pizza and Irie Mon Cafe to stadium food offerings

Just in time for the start of the Atlanta Hawks’ season, State Farm Arena has announced it will add local pizza restaurant Bocado and Caribbean restaurant Irie Mon Cafe to its concession offerings this year.

It has also extended its contract with food and hospitality partner Levy, continuing a relationship that goes back more than 20 years. Chef Gerry “G.” Garvin leads the venue’s food program as chief culinary officer for the stadium.

Garvin, an Atlanta chef and TV personality, started in the position in 2023. As he enters his third year of collaborating with Levy on the stadium’s menu, fans can expect traditional stadium food as well as some new items like a triple stack chicken quesadilla and a brisket smashburger.

“There’s a philosophy, right? Let’s not fix what’s not broken, but increase what works well,” Garvin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So, the word is always, ‘How do we elevate?’”

New concessions for this season include:

• Jerk chicken, carne asada and Buffalo chicken tacos near Section 103.
• Birria, Buffalo chicken and cheeseburger nachos near Section 116.
• Smoked turkey leg near Section 225.
• The Smokestack: Cornbread topped with smoked brisket, coleslaw and sweet pickles near Section 225.
• ATL Firecracker Corndog: A beef hot dog covered in Hot Cheeto batter with pepper jack cheese and topped with yum yum sauce near Section 107.
• Barbecue Brisket Smashburger: A brisket burger with onion rings, pickles and barbecue sauce at the Grill Stand near Section 107.
• Bourbon barbecue ribs: Slow-cooked ribs glazed with a bourbon barbecue sauce served with spicy macaroni and cheese at the BBQ Stand near Section 114.

Also new this year are dirty sodas, or drinks that mix soda with various flavorings and creamers. The sodas will be located near Sections 116 and 214 with flavors like peaches and cream, featuring Sprite, sweet cream and peach and vanilla flavoring; and the Shark Attack, with Sprite, blue Curacao syrup, grenadine and sweet cream.

Bestseller items will return, Garvin said, like Levy’s chicken tenders, burgers and hot dogs.

State Farm Arena’s concourse will welcome Bocado Pizza in Section 109 and Irie Mon Cafe to Section 219. Bocado will offer a menu of sourdough wood-fired pizzas, and Irie Mon Cafe will include jerk chicken wings, Rasta pasta and brown stew oxtail.

When selecting what restaurants to include, Garvin said they’re always thinking about what food is trending and what the arena needs.

“I personally love Bocado, I love the style of pizza they make,” he said. “When people come into the arena, you know, we’re always thinking local. We’re always thinking true to Atlanta.”

Bocado is an Italian restaurant in Sandy Springs, and Irie Mon Cafe has six locations around the city and an outpost in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This will be the first Caribbean restaurant at State Farm Arena.

Bocado Pizza and Irie Mon Cafe will debut during the Atlanta Hawk’s home opener Saturday.

“Atlanta is a very, very sophisticated food town. They know what they want. They know what they expect,” Garvin said.

Food is a major part of any stadium experience, and State Farm Arena hosts not only Hawks and Dream games, but concerts and other major events.

“We want to make sure that the moment they get into the building and they have been able to breathe a little bit, grab a beverage, the food is paramount,” Garvin said. “You want to feel good about bringing (fans) in. You want to feel good about feeding them and sharing the experience.”