Calderone Club owner's support for arena leads to stand serving meatballs and paninis at Fiserv Forum

A few years ago, Gino Fazzari placed a big bet on the new owners of the Milwaukee Bucks and spent $1.5 million to open San Giorgio, a Neapolitan style pizza restaurant in downtown Milwaukee.

It's next to his family's long-established Calderone Club, 842 N. Old World 3rd St., and both restaurants benefited from business from the Bucks front office and players who enjoyed the food and restaurants' big city vibe.

Then Fiserv Forum opened, and now Fazzari's joints are slammed, especially on game and concert nights.

"They've grown our business because of the volume of their business and the quality of their operation," Fazzari said. "They're planning to go from having about 115 events a year to more than 200."

Fazzari was an early and active supporter of the Bucks new ownership and the push for $250 million in public financing for the $525 million arena. 

Now, Fazzari is taking another gamble with the opening of a small meatball stand and larger Calderone-themed concession stand at Fiserv Forum. It could lead to a much larger partnership with the Bucks and open other opportunities.

The Bucks have struck deals with other local eateries such as Sobelman's and The Laughing Taco for Fiserv Forum stands.

The Bucks keep all revenue from concessions and, in general, pay licensing fees to the local companies. The Bucks don't make public financial details about Fiserv Forum sponsorships or concession deals.

Fazzari said he wanted to support the Bucks and boost awareness. And the Bucks want to highlight local products and businesses and give the restaurants a marketing opportunity.

"It makes so much sense to show off the Calderone brand at a new 17,000-seat arena," Fazzari said.

"From Day One it was important for Gino to be ingrained in the arena project," said Bucks President Peter Feigin. "He said, 'Don't do this without me.' "

Located in the northeast corner of the arena's upper concourse, the stand features three styles of meatballs — a traditional style made from beef, veal and pork; a leaner turkey and chicken; and an eggplant based vegetarian offering. Three meatballs come with dipping sauces in a surprisingly functional egg carton container.

It was no small matter for Fazzari to give family secrets to Levy, the Bucks' food and beverage contractor that operates the concession stands. He's been assured that quality will be carefully controlled.

"This is something that I can thank my mother and my family for — those meatballs have so much heritage," Fazzari said.

"We could be here (talking) for two hours and barely touch the subject."

The meatballs require a careful balance of the meat to fat, combined with a mixture of bread crumbs, eggs and milk.

"There is no pre-made seasoning package," Fazzari said. "It's all fresh garlic, fresh basil."

One of the Bucks owners, Mike Fascitelli, a New York real estate executive, is involved in restaurants and raves about the Calderone Club food, Feigin said.

"He loves Gino's meatballs, unconditionally," Feigin said. "He told me, 'If you want to do meatballs at the arena, you have to do Gino's.' "

The larger concession stand is a bit more of an experiment because of its location on the Mezzanine level. It's a quieter part of the arena because it's restricted to those with tickets for the higher-priced seats.

Feigin says that stand will give Calderone and Levy a chance to see how the food offerings work on a larger level while maintaining high-quality standards.

"This is volume and a pace of service that most restaurant owners have never seen," Feigin said. 

It's possible the relationship will grow.

"We're partners with Gino," Feigin said. "If this works out, we could scale it up to be a part of events, part of the entertainment block, to really blow it out." 

Fazzari said it's also possible that Calderone will sell meatballs elsewhere, including through grocery stores.

"One thing at a time," Fazzari said.