Habit Burger & Grill brings made-to-order quality to Dodger Stadium at game-day speed

Image provided by Habit Burger & Grill

Two months into the Major League Baseball season, and thousands of fans have cheered on the back-to-back world champion Dodgers, who have started the season with a winning record. A good number of those fans have also eaten at the ballpark, some at the first Habit Burger & Grill inside a professional sports venue.

This center field location is built for speed, fashioned with an updated layout and stocked with new equipment and technology to accommodate the fast-paced output that baseball fans have come to expect - as stadium restaurants serve about 700 meals in the hour before, and the hour after, the first pitch.

It's somewhat of a departure from what Habit is known for - open kitchens and "laidback, feel-good vibes." But the team has met the demand without sacrificing Habit's spirit.

"Serving fresh, cooked-to-order food at stadium speed is no easy feat," said Habit Director of Brand Marketing Jack Lettenmair. "We thrive when solving challenges like that at Habit. We're the smallest brand in Yum!'s portfolio, but what we lack in size, we make up for with speed and determination."

Here's how Habit creatively built its operations for speed while remaining "fresh like that."

From food trucks to center field

As Lettenmair tells it, Dodgers executives reached out to Habit in August 2025.

"They were interested in having another partner that was rooted in Southern California, with a national presence, but really, they wanted a brand that shared their California spirit," he said.

That conversation kicked off a series of meetings over the next few months. Marketing brought in finance, who tapped legal, who connected with operations - all culminating around game one of the playoffs.

"I ran into Jack in the hall, and he asked me to come to a Dodgers playoff game to look at one of the stadium kitchens," Habit Senior Director of Operations & Guest Experience Jamesa Willis remembered. "That's how I learned about it. Jack said, 'We have an opportunity to take over a space; let's go.' It was very exciting."

For Habit, the California-born and -based brand and its offerings had just swept USA Today 10BEST's Readers' Choice Awards across multiple categories, including Best Fast Casual Restaurant, so "there was so much synergy in terms of those California roots and then that winning spirit," Lettenmair said.

The day of the World Series championship parade, the sponsorship contract was signed. Later, Habit PR team made a public announcement that the brand was moving into Dodger Stadium, posting a photo of moving boxes to its social channels - and the clock was ticking for Willis and her operations team to solve for how they'd deliver 700 meals in two hours while adhering to Habit's freshly cooked-to-order standards. They had less than five months until Opening Day.

"I was confident we could do it," Willis said. "We hold thousands of events a year with 17 food trucks. We've served 22,000 people at Disneyland in 24 hours, so we know how to do this. We just have to think differently."

And they did. Willis' team held daily meetings on the project, redesigning a space to fit Habit's aesthetic and brand. They added two cook and prep lines instead of one, opted for a bigger charbroiler, tested toasters that sped up bread toasting by two minutes and installed new milkshake machines that eliminated one step from the process as well as fryers that automatically lifted when finished cooking.

"I initially went in with a vision for it, and I've been back four times with different people from my team who have changed that entirely," Willis said. "I think being open-minded and bringing people along for the ride is important."

By Opening Day, the Habit ops team did it, training team members to synergize with the space and serve 400 shakes and 700 burgers in a two-hour span. Plus, Willis adds, the brand is now testing some of this new equipment in its traditional restaurants to speed up its operations outside the ballpark, including Habit's newest location, aptly called "Dodgers x Habit Home Base," just minutes from the stadium on Sunset Blvd.

The Dodgers-themed restaurant includes bold blue lighting, refreshed Dodger-blue upholstery, vintage Dodgers-inspired photography and a mural from acclaimed Los Angeles street artist Ali Gonzalez, which serves as a striking visual tribute to the spirit of L.A., Dodgers culture and the community that brings it all together. 

What's better than burgers and baseball?

For Willis, Habit's partnership with the Dodgers just makes sense. "What's better than getting a hot burger and fries at a baseball game? It all goes together," she said.

Burgers, baseball and a little bit of behind-the-scenes hustle.

Now that the kitchen is prepped, Dodgers fans can enjoy America's favorite pastime and food - served by two back-to-back winning teams.

"It's the perfect fit," Lettenmair said.