Local kickoff: Santa Cruz County food businesses cash in on nearby Super Bowl

Santa Cruz County pizzerias, butchers and craft breweries are preparing for a Super Bowl sales bump this Sunday, and some expect the proximity of the big game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara to inspire additional viewers to stock up on wings, sausages and lager. 

While one sports bar is preparing for a full crowd to watch the National Football League’s championship game on its wall of televisions, food and drink businesses agree that this community event is typically celebrated in people’s homes. 

The Super Bowl is a major holiday for Corralitos Market & Sausage Co., especially when it’s local, said Dave Peterson, the president of the small community grocery store and butcher outside of Watsonville. Its meat department is known throughout the area for its handmade sausages, and he’s expecting to sell more than a metric ton this week. 

“We’re making more than 2,500 pounds of sausages just for that event, and at least half is cheesy Bavarians,” a smoked pork sausage mixed with cheddar cheese, said Peterson. “We could go up to as much as 3,000 pounds. We anticipate this, and if we need to, we can whip up another 500 pounds.” 

Aside from sausages, the other big sellers are marinated meats like tri-tip, chicken wings and skirt steak. Staff at the market begin preparing for the surge of orders in late January by purchasing more meat, making extra sausages, mixing marinades and packaging everything for sale. 

Super Bowl Sunday will bring in about 80% more sales revenue than a typical Sunday, said Peterson. “Sausages and football are like bread and butter,” he said. 

While those numbers might be even bigger if the San Francisco 49ers were playing (this year’s game pits the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots), the sunny weather expected for this weekend typically inspires more backyard barbecues. “Even though we need rain, this nice weather helps business tremendously. This is one of our busiest Januaries in memory,” he said. “Without a doubt more people are celebrating locally.”

Pizza My Heart is also expecting a burst of sales on Sunday afternoon as people order pizzas before kickoff around 3:30 p.m. “There’s a two- to two-and-a-half hour period where orders are super compressed. People are trying to get their food right at the start of the game, which is typically a slow time of day,” said executive chef Spencer Glenn. 

Sales of pickup and delivery orders typically double or even triple during the Super Bowl, with 30 to 50% more pizza sold than on a typical weekend day depending on the location, said Glenn. Neighborhood stores such as the locations on 41st Avenue in Capitola and in Aptos will see a larger jump than the smaller slice shops. Popular combinations like all-meat and pepperoni pizzas are likely to be the biggest sellers, along with sides like wings, breadsticks and desserts. “People are not watching their waistline,” said Glenn. 

He believes there will be more local interest in the game because of its proximity this year. “People will want to tune it to see an area they know is close to them. You get a lot of commentary from announcers about the Bay Area and 49ers, and participation will increase because of that,” he said. 

One Santa Cruz County food business is getting close to the action. Jessica and Justin Foust, the husband-and-wife team behind Foustman’s Salami, were invited to showcase their artisanal salamis at the Taste of the NFL, a festival held the day before the Super Bowl. The fundraiser is the NFL’s largest charitable event of the year, and all event proceeds benefit nutrition and fitness programs for schoolchildren. 

This Saturday in San Francisco, the Fousts will set up a booth and offer samples of their salamis in flavors like San Francisco-style turkey, pork with cabernet wine, and rosemary lamb in the Legends Lounge, a VIP section for 500 current and former NFL players and other guests. While the Super Bowl doesn’t typically represent a significant sales day for Foustman’s, this event is a huge marketing opportunity, said Jessica. 

“Hopefully we’ll get some new connections with chefs and restaurant owners. We also donated salamis to include in gift bags and a raffle, along with information about our business,” she said. Plus, she said her husband is excited to potentially meet former players — he grew up in Washington state. “I’m a Niners fan, but I’m a Seahawks fan by marriage,” she said. 

This year, Santa Cruz-based craft brewery Humble Sea Brewing Co. set out to appeal to the Super Bowl crowd by releasing a hazy IPA with Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey ahead of the big game. The collaborative brew was released to all of the brewery’s major accounts last weekend to inspire people to grab beers for their parties, said Humble Sea director of hospitality Joe White. 

“We definitely planned for it this year,” said White. Each can also has a removable sticker, which the breweries hope will be an additional draw to customers. Humble Sea also stocked up on canned lagers, a light beer that has grown in popularity over the past five years, he said. 

Although none of Humble Sea’s six taprooms across the Bay Area have TVs, the sunny weather will have a positive impact on taproom sales, with people gathering for a pint before the game, then watching from home. “The winter is almost 100% dependent on weather,” White said. “Super Bowl weekend will be a busy Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the game begins, then quiet after the game begins.” 

In Scotts Valley, Laughing Monk Brewing and Gastropub is planning to show the game on seven televisions and its in-house Jumbotron, although general manager Matt Laughlin said it’s unlikely to be a huge sales day for the restaurant. 

“It’s not a monumental day for us,” he said. “People like to stay home and go to Super Bowl parties, but the restaurant will fill up about 30 minutes to an hour before the game starts. Every seat will be full.” 

The pub is offering special tailgate-style appetizers like fried ravioli, jalapeno poppers, cheese curds and large pretzels to munch on throughout the game, as well as deals on beer and house cocktails. 

Although there are likely to be more people watching locally, Laughlin doesn’t think it will compare to the football playoffs in early January, where guests typically form lines out the door to watch the games. But he said he plans to throw a big party the next time San Francisco’s team plays the final game: “Next time the 49ers make it in, I might just shut down the parking lot, get a Jumbotron outside and see what happens.”

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