The Phillies are partnering with some of Philly’s top chefs for 2026

One of the bigger changes at Citizens Bank Park this season will be inside the Phillies’ newly rebranded Cadillac Hall of Fame Club, the premium second-level seating area that accommodates about 2,900 people.

Besides the top-to-bottom renovation, which includes interactive video elements, the Phillies and concessionaire Aramark are launching a season-long lineup of menu collaborations with some of Philadelphia’s best-known chefs and restaurateurs: Marc Vetri of Vetri Cucina, Fiorella, and Pizzeria Salvy; Matthew Cahn of Middle Child and Middle Child Clubhouse; Nish Patel of Del Rossi’s; Evan Snyder of Emmett; Carlos Aparicio of El Chingon; Amanda Shulman of Her Place Supper Club, My Loup, and Pine Street Grill; and Pidor Yang of Sahbyy Food.

Their appearances will change with each homestand.

The announcement was part of a preview Tuesday that also showed off an expanded stadium store with a redesigned main‑concourse entrance (no more tent!), five 25-foot-tall LED towers, and a rotating product launchpad highlighting exclusive merchandise.

Last week, the team announced that menu items from LaScala’s Fire, a local restaurant chain, will be offered in its 1,300-seat Philadelphia Insurance Club, the premium area popularly known as the Diamond Club. Also, Harry the K’s, the sports bar that opened with the ballpark in 2004 to honor broadcaster Harry Kalas, has been rebranded to the Ghost Energy Deck, and Shake Shack’s stand behind home plate has been replaced by Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and an outpost of Chickie’s & Pete’s.

Vetri will hit leadoff at the Hall of Fame Club with a meatball sandwich on a seeded Liscio’s roll. The meatballs, whose recipe was created by Vetri’s late father, Sal, are on the menu at Pizzeria Salvy, in the Comcast Technology Center. The meatballs also have been offered at Salvy’s stand at the Xfinity Mobile Area as a “Salzone,” but Jacob Rozenberg, Vetri’s culinary director, said the ballpark was not yet set up to stretch pizza dough for them.

Cahn, of Middle Child, said his contribution during his run of homestands at the end of June and beginning of July would be a pastrami chili cheese dog. “Middle Child is very Americana, and we wanted to bring in a little of that Jewish deli thing, too,” Cahn said. For Tuesday’s preview, he and director of operations Brandon Thrash offered the Clubhouse’s bite-size “okonomiyaki-style” latkes to keep the offering portable for the hundreds of influencers touring the renovations.

The other chefs’ contributions have not been announced.

Jeff Benjamin, Vetri’s business partner, said the Phillies and Aramark called them over the winter while batting around food ideas for this season, when the Phillies host the All-Star Game in July and Philadelphia marks the Semiquincentennial.

“We all kind of sat in a room together and said, ‘What if we got different chefs for every homestand?’” Benjamin said. “There’s a lot going on, so let’s celebrate the culinary evolution of America and of Philadelphia.”

The Hall of Fame Club program also includes player-inspired items tied to charitable causes. Pitcher Jesús Luzardo inspired the Sweeper — a ribeye steak sandwich with pizza sauce, provolone, and pepperoni — that will be sold at the Campo’s stand in Ashburn Alley only when he pitches at the ballpark; proceeds will benefit the Luzardo Family Foundation.

Pitcher Cristopher Sánchez and his wife, Kaimary Pérez, were there to talk up Sánchez Sliders — chicken tenders tossed in a hot spice blend and served on potato rolls with Grillo’s Pickles, garlic aioli, and Mike’s Hot Honey — which will benefit Clínica de Familia, a nonprofit clinic in Sánchez’s hometown of La Romana, Dominican Republic. It will be sold in the Hall of Fame Club and in the Coca-Cola Corner on the Left Field Plaza.

Perez is a professional chef who owned a restaurant and a meal-prep business for people wanting a healthy lifestyle. “But not anymore,” she said. “I now have a very important goal and that is to keep Sanchi healthy and to provide for my family in that way.”

“My wife had a couple of tips to give to the team about the things that I like and what we wanted to include in the item,” Sánchez said through a translator.

Also new is the Schwarbomb Sundae, inspired by slugger Kyle Schwarber: Richman’s soft-serve topped with a fried strawberry Uncrustable, fresh strawberry sauce, and fruity cereal pieces and served in a 2026 MLB All-Star Game batting helmet.

Besides the remodeling of the Hall of Fame Club, its back of house has been upgraded with full cooking capabilities, including new hood systems, allowing for a more made-to-order dining program. The Phillies are also adding in-seat delivery for Hall of Fame Club ticketholders.

The new Hall of Fame menu reflects that broader ambition. Among the new dishes, which The Inquirer sampled earlier this month, are short rib grilled cheese, sushi rolls, Creole shrimp wrap, spring panzanella, Italian hoagies, burgers, brisket nachos, crabcake sandwiches, seared tuna rice bowls, and crab arancini.

The expanded program also includes foods from local names such as Termini Brothers and Wilt’s Berries.

For the chefs, the Hall of Fame Club offers a way to put their food before a new audience in one of the city’s most visible venues. Benjamin did not pretend otherwise.

“It is a marketing exercise,” he said. “It lets people know that we’re here. It lets people know that we’re willing to have some fun.”