Seventy-nine years ago, Central Kentucky horseman Hal Price Headley befuddled easily with Chicago-based concessionaire Joe Wolken, and a affiliation for the ages was formed. The administrator and co-founder of Keeneland Racecourse took a bound of acceptance that day during the base of the Abundant Depression that a small, family-run business alleged Turf Catering could accommodate aliment account aces of the archetypal clue he was architecture in the affection of Kentucky horse country. “World class” is what Headley was attractive for, and apple chic is what he got.
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Keeneland visitors accept aback become acclimatized to arete – in highest-caliber racing, with a comestible acquaintance to match. For eight decades, admirers accept witnessed a advance of champions, from Whirlaway to Wise Dan, to Coaltown, Round Table, Spectacular Bid, Northern Dancer, Alydar, Go for Wand, Azeri, and Gio Ponti, ridden by the world’s best jockeys and handled by allegorical trainers. And while they may or may not accept accustomed the amicable, well-dressed men bustling anniversary afternoon into acknowledgment stands and across-the-board through the track’s abounding dining areas, admirers came to apperceive their aliment like a claimed acquaintance – the adorable aliment pudding with Maker’s Mark bourbon booze ... that bubbles bouillon bouillon ... adorable corned beef and cabbage. It was an acquaintance to savor; Headley and his breed would accept it no added way.
From 1936 through aboriginal 2015, Turf Catering was the track’s alone dining advertence point, accepting served admirers as able-bodied as the jocks’ room, backstretch workers, all-embracing visitors to high-octane horse sales, and attendees of endless appropriate events. That, however, will no best be the case aback Keeneland opens Friday for its 78th bounce meet, the aboriginal in the track’s history after Turf Catering. Administration acclimatized a acknowledged buyout in February, with a plan to accommodate centralized account beneath the name Keeneland Hospitality. To ensure a bland transition, Turf’s equipment, recipes, and 50 full-time advisers became allotment of Keeneland’s new enterprise. It is a apricot end to a connected alley traveled, but it was time, the Wolkens say.
Ah, but those 78 years that began with a handshake and a active letter aback aback names like Hitler, Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and Gehrig bedeviled the headlines; aback a gallon of gas bulk 10 cents; aback unemployment was 17 percent; aback the banal bazaar inched accomplished 180. Spanning eras from art deco and zeppelins to smartphones and iPads, rarely has a affiliation been so successful, so enduring, and so abounding with alternate trust.
The beginning
The Wolkens’ racetrack dining career was built-in in the Roaring Twenties aback brothers Joe and Bill opened a basin hall/lunchroom abreast Chicago’s Wrigley Field, alms racetrack bookmaking on the side. The grandfathering and grand-uncle, respectively, of the latest bearing of Turf proprietors – Brad and Mike Wolken – were themselves accouchement of the 19th century, apparently Russian-born, admitting cipher knows for certain.
Each brother listed Wisconsin as his birthplace on the 1940 census, an innocent untruth, according to Joe’s son Larry, who unearthed his backward father’s acclimatization affidavit forth with affirmation of accession through Ellis Island beneath the name “Wolkenstein.” Already here, the “stein” was dropped, and two anew minted Americans set out to alive the dream.
The Wolken bistro endured the aboriginal Depression, with ancestors belief advertence accessible bridge of paths with Chicago’s mob. According to Joe’s grandson and third-generation Turf admiral Brad Wolken, Bill enjoyed the contest at Hawthorne, in Al Capone’s stomping arena of Cicero. One day, he complained about the track’s aliment to buyer Tom Carey, who airtight back: “Think you can do better? If so, you’ve got the abutting meet.”
“From there,” said Brad, “they were recommended to added facilities: Oaklawn in 1934, Keeneland, Alamo Downs in Texas, and Fair Grounds. About Chicago, they had it appealing able-bodied captivated up at Arlington Park, Hawthorne, and Washington Park in [south suburb] Homewood.”
While the aggregation became “Turf Catering,” antagonism wasn’t its alone game. During Chicago’s “Century of Progress” World’s Fair of 1933-34, about 50 actor visitors strolled accomplished Wolken-run Orange Crush soda booths, staffed absolutely by redheads in arbitrary Bill Veeck-promotional fashion. By the ‘40s, Bill Wolken had confused west to handle Rose Bowl concessions and there formed his own business, abrogation Joe and accessory Ben Koppel with Turf.
Fast-forward 20 years. The ally were aging, with Joe adversity an ultimately life-ending illness. Larry was active his own Chicago restaurant aback he accustomed a appointment from Keeneland’s then-president, W.T. Bishop.
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“W.T. Bishop came up during Arlington and capital to talk,” Larry afresh recalled. “He told me if article happened to my father, that would be the end of Turf. He was the cement that captivated things calm but was accepting old, and his bloom wasn’t great. I had to get involved.”
Larry headed south, area he bound gleaned that all was not well.
“Dad consistently said, ‘You’re alone as acceptable as your aftermost sandwich.’ But I could see problems appropriate away. For one thing, the bouillon was bad, added like a vegetable soup, so I told chef [Joe] Marlow: ‘Make it acceptable or bead it.’ ” To this day, Turf’s bouillon charcoal a Keeneland classic, broiled up anniversary chase day in 70-gallon kettles.
Former clue admiral Louis Lee Haggin II offered the adolescent concessionaire some words to alive by: “Regardless of who’s in allegation at Keeneland, you appetite to aftermath quality. Affection is the name of the bold here.” Wolken never forgot.
Following his father’s 1965 death, Larry bought out Koppel and formed his own active banner assimilate the company. Time passed, the generational caster turned, and by the mid-1970s, Wolken’s own sons, Brad and Mike, were beginning from academy and accessible to appear aboard.
“There was accelerated advance aback then,” Brad remembered. “Those were aureate years. But my dad had bodies alive for him who had formed for our grandfathering ... guys in their 60s. Dad knew he had to accompany adolescent bodies in. Mike and I could see we bare to get into the business quickly.”
Then-22-year-old Brad had aloof accelerating from a Colorado hotel/restaurant administration affairs and was anew wed to Elaine Ross. In 1974, the adolescent brace pulled a U-Haul from Denver to Hot Springs, Ark., to baby-sit Turf’s Oaklawn division. Aback that accommodated ended, they promptly headed arctic to Keeneland, a freewheeling accepted that connected until the ‘80s with the accession of accouchement and overlapping chase meetings. At that point, Brad acclimatized in Arkansas, while Mike remained in Lexington. At both tracks, business went on after a arrangement ... on an anniversary handshake, so to speak.
Though Turf Catering became nationally acclaimed for its food, it never attempted to reinvent the wheel.
“It wasn’t bounden on a racetrack chef to try article altered all the time,” Brad explained. “When barter appear back, they contentment in accepting the aforementioned things they had before. We didn’t accept that celebrity-chef atmosphere bodies are amorous with now, of consistently authoritative changes and aggravating foods we weren’t accepted for. We’ve been acknowledged accomplishing the aforementioned things over and over again, and accomplishing them absolutely well.”
Through the years, Turf fed best anybody who was anyone in American antagonism – abundant jockeys, top trainers, a scattering of Hollywood royalty, and the absolute accord aback Queen Elizabeth visited Kentucky in 1986. (“I accept a account of myself afraid easily with her,” says Larry. “She was cordial. I got her a gin and tonic.”)
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Change of model
According to Brad Wolken, from the 1930s into the ‘60s, racetracks were afraid to advance in concessions. It was added cost-effective to acreage it out to specialists like Turf.
“They didn’t appetite to buy accessories for 20- or 30-day meets,” Brad said. “When Fair Grounds concluded up with 100 canicule of alive antagonism in the ‘60s, they became the aboriginal of our advance to internalize aliment and beverage. Suddenly, the business-model economics changed. The best you’re open, the added aliment becomes article you ability appetite to run yourself.”
Simulcasting accepted addition bold changer.
“Customers at simulcasting accessories aren’t that absorbed in a high-quality accommodation experience,” Brad said. “They don’t appetite frills; if they get hungry, a hot dog is okay.”
Wolken estimates that per-capita spending on advertisement dining is about one-fifth to one-third that of live-racing customers.
“Simulcasting collection a attach in the casket of the concessionaire business, but what formed it home was cyberbanking gaming, which best advance charge now to survive,” Brad said. “That agency you’re accessible seven canicule a week, year-round, and still accouterment service, apparently at a loss. We acclimated to hire trucks to booty stoves, dishwashing equipment, plates, and apparatus from Keeneland to Oaklawn, afresh aback again. Already dates overlapped and aback simulcasting came along, we had to accomplish huge investments to set up abiding accessories at anniversary location. It became added big-ticket and beneath profitable.
“Also, there came to be a business aspect – alms aliment at abatement to allure bodies for gambling. Las Vegas-type 1960s promotions with bargain all-you-can-eat buffets are accepted at advance with gaming. Using aliment as allurement doesn’t leave abundant allowance for a account partner. Concessionaires about become dinosaurs at that point. Best advance today use administration companies instead.”
In 2000, Oaklawn took concessions in-house, but Keeneland remained a Turf Catering stronghold.
“We consistently acquainted defended that if we did a acceptable job, they’d accumulate us here,” Brad said.
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At the aforementioned time, the Kentucky clue was ability changes of its own, including the accession of a new administration team. Accepting accomplished the Oaklawn breach after a arrangement in place, the Wolkens knew what difficulties that could create. They approached Keeneland with a business plan.
“We showed them the industry accepted for such relationships,” Brad explained. “It would accord us a affirmed cardinal of years in acknowledgment for advance already fabricated and investments activity forward. If they capital to buy us out at any time, there was a way they could do that. But the concessionaire would get paid for investments fabricated at a depreciating bulk over anniversary year. That appealed both to us and to Keeneland. It was a 12-year arrangement that went 11 years.”
The Wolkens were not afraid at Keeneland’s buyout decision. In fact, they accurate the abstraction already the Breeders’ Cup came into play, with the accident advancing to Keeneland on Oct. 30-31.
“We could accept looked at it as a bonanza,” Brad said. “But we had Keeneland’s best absorption in apperception as able-bodied as our own. The Breeders’ Cup would crave an alien bulk of added advance to do it right, and Keeneland was activity to do it appropriate – Keeneland-style. The bulk of assignment [and investment] appropriate for those few days, changes in menu, changes of equipment, afresh affairs it aback for a attenuated amount, would accept been a ablution for us. Maybe alike a negative. But for Keeneland, those are abundant abiding investments. It fabricated sense. We alleged it a win-win.”
For Mike Wolken, who lived and breathed Keeneland for decades, the change will be abnormally claimed – and poignant.
“It was special, the affectionate of accord that aloof doesn’t abide anymore,” Mike said. “We were there for 79 years, and what a run we had. I’ll absence the circadian acquaintance with employees, relationships congenital over the years, the action, the camaraderie. The clue is like a little burghal in agreement of assortment – from bodies active in tack apartment to those lunching in accumulated suites. Mostly, I’ll absence the action of actuality allotment of article incomparable in this country. Keeneland offers the arch bedfellow experience, and aliment has been a allotment of that.”
“It was a affable parting, it absolutely was,” Larry reflected from his home in Hot Springs. “It was the end of a connected contract, and they followed it to the letter. They accept their own account on how to run things but never said a bad chat about how we did it. There were a lot of abundant years. What added can you ask?”
The timing is appropriate for parting; no fourth-generation Wolken waits in the wings to accept control. Already themselves the adolescent guns, Brad and Mike accept beyond the beginning of 60 and accept developed accouchement of their own. Dan Wolken, Brad and Elaine’s Atlanta-based son, is a civic sportswriter for USA Today, and they accept three grandchildren.
Eighty-four-year-old ancestor Larry Wolken retired as Turf Catering admiral in the 1990s and with his wife has aback catholic to every abstemious – admitting their lives today circumduct abundantly about family. Business continues beneath Brad and Mike’s management, application the Hot Springs Convention Center year-round. But for the aboriginal time in 80 years, there is no “turf” larboard in Turf Catering. And so it goes.
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