ST. LOUIS - The Cardinals won't be back home at Busch Stadium until next week, but on game days things really heat up.
This week Walker Wright wants to know how many nachos, hot dogs, and pretzels they sell at the stadium each year, so Heidi Glaus found out.
It's a sound heard all over Busch Stadium; a crunch Cardinals fans line up for and Michelle DeMarco has to plan for.
"In all honesty it's hard to forecast how many people are going to come in and want nachos this time versus hot dogs," said DeMarco, executive sous chef for sports service.
So they're prepared for whatever fans crave.
There are more than 36 concession stands throughout Busch Stadium, so in a year they'll go through more than 265,000 pounds of tortilla chips topped with about 146,000 pounds of nacho cheese sauce. That equals more than 400,000 servings of nachos a year.
Pretzels are another story.
"We have hand rolled pretzels, we have a traditional Bavarian pretzels, we have our pretzel bites," said DeMarco.
But counting just the traditional soft pretzels without cheese, they go through approximately 74,000.
Another 70,000 with that golden goodness.
As far as meat goes, DeMarco says, "87 tons of brisket are smoked on property every season."
All 250 cooks stay quite busy.
"We sell over 970,000 assorted sausages that's hot dogs and brats combined," said DeMarco. That equals more than 6,000 hot dogs per game.
"Hot dogs are one of those things, they come in frozen and you store them in the freezer. Buns become a larger logistical issue to keep them fresh, keep them soft so we're not serving stale buns," said DeMarco.
So deliveries come in daily, and storage is always a bit of a dance.
"It's about finding a hole anywhere you can and remembering what you put there," said DeMarco.
Of course, they always know where the kegs and cans can be found, and fans know whatever it is they order at Busch Stadium is going to be a winner.
Next week Heidi will wonder the streets of downtown St. Louis in search of an answer for Cheryl Thoms, who wants to know why there are so many metal plates on roads, and what's being done in those big holes.
Look for that answer next week, April 30.
HEY HEIDI
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