The next time you head to a concert at Wolf Trap, you won’t have to miss as much of the show waiting in long lines for food and drinks, and you’ll be able to get concessions before the show gates open.
Wolf Trap replaced the original 1971 concessions stand with a new three-story building that renovates the concessions area and improves overall accessibility. The Meadow Commons building, located next to the amphitheater, will connect all three levels of the concert venue. The first level will contain a drinks-only concessions area with four service windows. The second level will house a lounge area and a private dining room. At the top plaza level, there will be 11 spots to get food, with three that can be open before shows start.
“We can reconfigure the gates on the fly to do that,” says Fraser Kadera, Wolf Trap’s vice president of facilities. “So if people want to get concessions for their picnic, we can actually do that.”
The redesign takes into consideration what people hate to do: wait in line. “We’ve also laid out the concessions, the kitchen, all that in a very efficient way to help speed things up,” he says.
Wolf Trap also added more stalls to the restrooms, two family-style restrooms with changing stations, and two additional accessible picnic areas with views of the meadow.
The building will have elevators. “Those elevators will link the lower bowl of Wolf Trap, the lower seating area, with all of the amenities at the top of the ridge for the first time,” says Arvind Manocha, Wolf Trap’s CEO.
“The hill has always been challenging for those who have mobility needs,” says Manocha. “What we’re doing with this building is including elevators at a location that will allow patrons to get to the amenities at the upper ridge without having to ask for any special assistance.”
A direct path that goes through the lower orchestra section will ease navigation at the Filene Center. “For the first time, someone could park in the handicapped parking, be in a wheelchair or have mobility issues, and get from there all the way over to the Associates Pavilion without any impediment,” says Kadera.
Kadera says the overall design of the project will engage folks with Wolf Trap’s beautiful meadow.
Completion of the Meadow Commons building is expected by May 30, just in time for Wolf Trap’s summer season featuring John Legend, Indigo Girls, James Taylor, and more.
Feature image by Amie Otto
This story originally ran in our April issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
