Hungry visitors to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens will soon have some new dining options, courtesy of Sam Nazarian.
The hospitality mogul’s digital-forward restaurant company, C3, is collaborating with theme park operator United Parks & Resorts (formerly known as SeaWorld) to offer food at some of its 13 venues.
C3 owns about 40 quick-service concepts, including Krispy Rice, Umami Burger and Sam’s Crispy Chicken. The brands are designed to be licensed and operated out of the kitchens of other restaurants, though some have brick-and-mortar outlets of their own.
United Parks' properties include SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place and several water parks.
The two companies kicked off their collaboration in October, with a C3 pop-up called Toma during Busch Garden Tampa Bay’s annual Howl-O-Scream event. The empanada concept was created by actress Sofia Vergara and her son, Manolo.
Toma will return for Busch Garden’s Christmas Town event that runs through Jan. 5. Other C3 brands including Umami Burger and breakfast burrito concept Huevorito will launch at SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld San Diego recently launched Huevorito as well.
United Parks will operate the brands, with C3 providing product and recipes. Food will be packaged for grab-and-go. At Busch Gardens, customers order in-person at the Toma pop-up.
United Parks said working with C3 will allow it to offer visitors more dining options. Food and merchandise are a key source of sales for the company, accounting for nearly half of its revenue in the third quarter.
“We are thrilled to be diversifying our food offerings with this collaboration with C3, introducing new and exciting brands and concepts that we expect will become can’t-miss craveable opportunities to share and enhance a visit to the park,” said United Parks CEO Mark Swanson in a statement.
For C3, the deal will help expose its brands to a wider audience. Through the first nine months of the year, nearly 17 million people visited a United Parks venue.
Theme parks are the latest addition to C3’s multipronged business model, which also includes brick-and-mortar restaurants, food halls, a mobile app, the recently acquired Kitchen United and Nextbite businesses, and in-flight meals.
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