Shane Cornelius, Co-Owner of popular Bismarck restaurant Butterhorn (with his wife Stephanie Miller) joins the Larks as a Food and Beverage Consultant for the 2024 season. Shane has spent the last two decades running successful restaurants and creating memorable experiences for patrons.

“To say we’re excited to work with Shane is an understatement,” said Larks Owner/CEO John Bollinger. “Food and beverage is such an important part of the ballpark experience and bringing in someone like Shane to work with our amazing team brings an exciting new perspective I know will add tremendous value to our fans.”

The importance of food at Larks games is undeniable. Every game, Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, Home of Dakota Community Bank & Trust Field, becomes the largest restaurant in the state of North Dakota.

“Fans don’t realize how large our production is for a single game. We have 1,900 fans in attendance and 80 percent of them have all-you-can-eat ticket packages.” John said. “We have unique challenges. We don’t have an on-site kitchen, yet, and since we grill all food outdoors, we often run into issues with the unpredictable weather of our wonderful state.”

By hiring Shane, we are working to turn these challenges into opportunities. Shane is excited to share his knowledge and expertise to enhance the food and beverage experience.

“There are so many ideas that we have to get started and a lot of it is perception,” Shane said. “When fans are going through the lines, we want it to be a personable experience with the sound of food, the smell of a dish, the visually appealing factors, and great service. It’s about elevating the classic ballpark food experience fans already expect and making them go ‘Wow.’”

With Shane’s assistance, we are committed to putting heavy emphasis on the following four key elements:

• Listening to Shane’s fresh perspectives on our existing processes and experiences. 
• Consistency in the food and beverage experience.
• Enhancing processes that create a consistent and quality product.
• Teaching our front office, interns, and game day staff team great hospitality.

“Shane loves the Larks and what we are in the community. He believes that food is a big part of a family gathering. The similar visions and values between the two of us and our companies make us both want to create these high-end experiences for everybody that we serve,” John said.

Not only does Shane’s new role allow him to bring his restaurant experiences and processes to the Larks, but it also brings him closer to his favorite sport as our newest Flock Member.

“I’m super excited to be a part of a baseball team. I grew up on a cattle ranch in a little town and got a few channels on our television and one of those was WGN with the Chicago Cubs,” Shane said. “I’ve been a Cubs fan forever. I cried when they won the World Series. There’s just something about the memories a great ballpark experience can create and now I get to be a part of creating that for families and friends at Larks games. It’s a special opportunity for me.”

If you have an interest in giving feedback or ideas for Shane and the Larks Food & Beverage team to consider in 2024, please send them to Nate at nate@larksbaseball.com.