A slew of new food selections is on tap in 2022 for Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, as well as a healthy dose of new tech with the introduction of Just Walk Out shopping from Amazon.
The Astros and Amazon will equip two food and beverage stores at Minute Maid Park with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, promising fans faster and easier shopping experience during the 2022 Major League Baseball season and beyond. This will be the first use of the Amazon technology in an MLB venue; the technology is already in use at Climate Pledge Arena, opening in 2021 as home of the Seattle Kraken (NHL).
The Just Walk Out technology-enabled 19th Hole store is located on the Concourse level behind Section 156, and the Just Walk Out technology-enabled Market store is located on the Honda Club level behind Section 211. Both stores offer a selection of snacks, soda, candy, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages. The Concourse level store also offers pre-packaged salads, wine bottles, and souvenirs.
The technology has been pitched by Amazon as frictionless concessions. Fans visiting the two Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores insert their credit card at the entry gates to shop. Once they’re inside, anything they take off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of their virtual cart. When fans have completed their shopping experience, they will be able to just leave the store and the credit card they inserted will be charged for the items they took.
“The Astros are proud to collaborate with Amazon to bring their Just Walk Out Shopping experience to Minute Maid Park in 2022,” said Marcel Braithwaite, Senior Vice President, Business Operations for the Astros, via press release. “We wanted to provide this state-of-the-art technology to our fans, giving them a more streamlined and convenient shopping experience so they can spend more time enjoying baseball.”
“We’re excited to work with the Houston Astros to offer fans a fast and convenient way to shop for their gameday essentials using Just Walk Out technology at the 19th Hole and Market stores,” said Dilip Kumar, Vice President of Physical Retail & Technology at Amazon, via press release. “Our technology is designed to deliver a fast and frictionless shopping experience, so we’re thrilled to help eliminate checkout lines for fans when they need to refuel during games and between innings.”
At the 19th Hole and Market stores, associates will serve as greeters and provide in-store assistance as needed. Of course, fans purchasing alcohol will be required to show their ID to a store attendant for age verification.
Besides the new Just Walk Out stores, the Astros will offer mobile-kiosk ordering featuring Tapin2 technology and mobile ordering via Uber Eats.
On the food front, the Astros and concessionaire Aramark are introducing new food offerings, including:
- The La Pina Dog: is an all-beef hot dog, grilled and topped with fresh smoked pineapple, candied jalapeños, and teriyaki glaze. It’s available at Section 132.
- An order of Grande Papas Nacho Fries includes beef carnitas, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, crema, elote, and pico de galo on French fries. It’s available at the Elote stand, Section 124.
- At the Walking Nacho (Section 255): The Tostitos Walking Nacho features Doritos with queso blanco, pico de galo, crema, and red chicken, green chicken, or pork carnitas.
- A House Smoked Pastrami Sandwich features house-brined and smoked brisket with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and housemaid dressing on rye bread. It’s available at Section 116.
Also new in 2022: offerings from Houston’s El Tiempo are coming to the ballpark with classic fajita beef, chicken, and carnitas tacos on homemade tortillas, paired with the classic frozen margarita. It’s available in the center-field Mezzanine area.
And if you need a walk after consuming all this food, check out the 60th Anniversary Mural Wall at Home Run Alley inside Minute Maid Park, from artists Jesse de Leon, Rachel Toalson, and Kelsea Tanaka.
60 hours to represent 60 years.
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 12, 2022
Next time you’re in the ballpark, stop by Home Run Alley to get a photo in front of the 60th Anniversary Astros Mural Wall, presented by @SherwinWilliams. pic.twitter.com/g3PTzxOQ79
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