49ers fans: Levi’s Stadium unveils a pub called The Faithful, plus new food choices

Are you a 49ers fan heading to Sunday’s home opener?

Better arrive early — and hungry.

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and its hospitality partner, Levy, on Thursday unveiled more new food selections starting with the game against the Seattle Seahawks and announced the official opening of The Faithful, a pub that is taking over the space formerly occupied by Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak & Pub.

Three vendors — artisanal Mexican restaurant Puesto; local favorite Psycho Donuts; and Cream + Sugar Ice Cream — join the lineup of already announced purveyors. Fans will find booths from Sandi’s Food for the Soul, Konjoe Burger Bar, ChurWaffle, Tony G’s Slice House, Hula Truck, The Shop by Chef Baca, Smoking Pig, Super Duper Burgers, Starbird and The Chairman — a lineup that shows a clear emphasis on chefs with local roots. (Learn more about these previously announced menus in our Kickoff magazine food roundup. Those culinary stars are offering bao, burgers, barbecue, jambalaya, pizza, poke nachos and more.)

This year, the Burgess Brothers of Sacramento, who own and operate ChurWaffle, are collaborating with other Black-owned businesses to broaden the options at their Yahoo Club location at the stadium. Joining them will be executive chef Michauxnee Olier of The Busy Wife and owner LaQueanya Henry of Sugar Coated Cupcakes, who will be baking vanilla strawberry cupcakes and red velvet ones finished with edible gold flakes.

Cream + Sugar Ice Cream will make mini ice cream sandwiches with creative flavors and sprinkles for the home games.

And Puesto, located across Highway 101 from Levi’s, will be offering an array of tacos and burritos at two stadium locations, according to executive chef Damian Bibb. The menu includes quesabirria tacos, potato taquitos with a zesty tomatillo salsa and tacos stuffed with carnitas, mushroom-veggie mixture or marinated, braised chicken al pastor.

Regional executive chef Jon Severson and executive chef Alvin Kabiling were tasked again this year with pulling together a new lineup of specialty food to enhance the fan experience.

“We always want to one-up ourselves,” Severson said, noting that the Levi’s/Levy culinary team enjoys the challenge each season. On game days, it takes 2,100 food workers to feed the stadium population.

For the suites, their big addition is the Steakhouse Board, which features a sizable porterhouse (49 ounces, naturally), sliced and served with side dishes and a red chimichurri blended from Calabrian chiles, onions, smoked paprika and other spices. There’s also a new Dry Aged Flannery Burger topped with black garlic aioli and gouda and a Golden Valley Salad with pickled vegetables.

And then there are the creations dreamt up for a new Tostitos partnership. The chefs will be topping Fritos and Doritos with barbecue pork belly, making nachos with poblano chicken and loading up bags of chips with chicken fajitas to create “walking tacos.”

In the new pub called The Faithful, a partnership with Golden Road Brewery, smokehouse favorites will rule. This weekend’s offerings include St. Louis ribs, a brisket sandwich, Nashville hot wings and fried dill pickle spears. Barbecue options are expected to change game by game and wing flavors will rotate, chef Kabiling said.

Customers will find three Golden Road beers — Faithful Blonde Ale, Mango Cart and an IPA — on tap, along with other selections.

All ticket holders are allowed access to The Faithful.

Throughout the stadium, fans with season tickets may again take advantage of the 49ers Member Inclusive Menu, which provides free food and non-alcoholic beverages. Last season, the Niners marketing team said, 130,000 free bottles of water and 50,000 hot dogs were distributed on game days. Also available are chicken tenders, nachos, fries, popcorn, pretzels with cheese, candy and vegan/vegetarian choices.

For details on concessions and their stadium locations, go to www.levisstadium.com/concessions.