The Deal

Colony Grill, the Connecticut-founded bar-pie chain, has secured an Official Pizza Partner agreement with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that places its thin-crust product at four concession locations inside Raymond James Stadium through the 2030 season. The deal, which made its operational debut during the team's home opener, marks the chain's formal entry into NFL stadium foodservice after serving the venue's summer concert series.

The four concession stands are positioned in Sections 109, 134, 311, and 336, giving the brand coverage on both the 100 and 300 levels. The footprint extends beyond the main concourse: club-level guests receive in-seat delivery in co-branded personal-sized pizza boxes, while suites, the Champions Club, and the Hall of Fame Club receive larger-format offerings. The three SKUs in play are a plain cheese, pepperoni, and Colony's signature Original Hot Oil Pizza.

Operator Calculus

For a regional chain with locations across Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Florida, a multi-year NFL venue contract represents meaningful incremental volume and brand exposure well outside its existing restaurant footprint. Colony's two Florida units — Tampa Midtown and St. Petersburg's Central Avenue location — are the logical off-premise spillover beneficiaries. The chain is activating a buy-one-get-one-free pizza offer, redeemable on game-day tickets or Krewe Cards at both Florida restaurants within seven days of any of the remaining eight home games, effectively extending the stadium daypart into the casual-dining unit.

"Buccaneers fans have made Colony Grill part of their game days over the years — now, we're excited to meet them both at our restaurants and at Raymond James Stadium," said Paul Coniglio, Co-Owner and CEO of Colony Grill. Buccaneers Chief Commercial Officer Atul Khosla framed the addition as part of a broader concession-upgrade strategy, noting that Colony Grill is "already a fan-favorite" and aligns with the organization's quality-and-experience positioning.

Stadium Pizza Context

NFL venue concession programs have become increasingly competitive as stadium operators chase per-cap spend growth. Regional and better-quality pizza brands have found traction in that environment — a counterweight to legacy commodity pizza that has historically dominated arena and stadium formats. Colony Grill's bar-pie format, thin-crust and differentiated by its Hot Oil topping, translates well to high-throughput concession settings where a distinct product identity can drive repeat trial across a multi-game season. Founded in 1935, the brand's decades-long bar-and-community positioning gives it a consumer-trust baseline that many newer stadium pizza entrants lack.

For foodservice operators watching regional chain expansion, the colony-stadium model is worth tracking: rather than committing capital to a net-new brick-and-mortar unit in an untested Florida market, the chain is building brand equity and driving traffic to existing restaurants through a venue partnership — an asset-light channel extension that carries lower fixed-cost risk than traditional development.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.