SKYLAR SEAVEY / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Cody Englander
Staff Writer
Among landscaping, construction and off-season events, the past months have brought a series of new developments for the Amphitheater including concessions, the CHQ Store, an updated security perimeter and an improved ticketing location.
The idea to bring concessions to the Amp has been a long-running conversation, but 2025 saw multiple discussions on the subject involving community input with an “Amp Food and Beverage Sales Listening Session” discussing proposed plans for food and beverage service in the Amp.
“If [someone] came up for a single concert, you’d expect to be able to have a drink, and so we need to make sure we have the right experience, especially for those coming to Chautauqua for one evening,” Keogh told the Daily. “That’s a big part of what we did with concessions.”
During Bonnie Raitt’s September 2025 performance, concessions were added to the Amp for the first time as a pilot run for the 2026 Season.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about [since] 2013,” said Brittany Beckstrom, senior director of Athenaeum Hotel operations. “… We did a trial run during [Bonnie Raitt’s show] last year to get some feedback from community groups and denominational houses that are right next door that would be affected. They’ve been great partners, really helping us find a system that’s going to work for everybody.”
Concessions will be sold at select shows — 11 during the season and the postseason Indigo Girls concert on Sept. 10. Shows with concessions will take place on select Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights, and concessions will be sold one hour prior to the start of showtime.
Beverages sold at these select performances will consist of beer, wine, soda and water, but the food will come with a unique Chautauqua spin.
“We didn’t want it to just be pizza and traditional concessions,” Beckstrom explained.
She noted a selection of more traditional food options in addition to higher-end selections including gourmet chips, bagged popcorn, mixed fruits and nuts.
“We heard back from some Chautauquans about what they would like to see,” she said.
This is also part of an effort to be more welcoming and hospitable to first-time Chautauquans for evening entertainment shows, offering conveniences similar amenities as other venues, though it’s also been a point of discussion among the performing artists. Deborah Sunya Moore, senior vice president and chief program officer, noted a “very prominent” performer backed out of a performance at Chautauqua because of the lack of concessions.
“The original feedback came from a lot of our artists,” Beckstrom said. “And also came from not having a lot of food and beverage options on the ground, especially on busier nights.”
The hope for the Institution is to increase revenue during larger performances, with more convenient access to food and drink services for first-time Chautauquans.
“Our longtime hope has been to make the experience more welcoming, especially for outside patrons, unfamiliar with where nearby food and concessions are,” Sunya Moore said.
In the future, concessions may be tailored to certain performances and performers, depending on the audience. Beckstrom noted the menu from the start of the season may look different than the menu at the end of the season.
“We know who the audience is in advance based on the artists, so it’ll be fun to look at what would work best for those audiences as we move forward in the season,” Beckstrom said.
Another new development near the entrance to the Amp is the CHQ Store, located in Hultquist Center.
“We picked out a high-traffic location near the Amphitheater and set up the store in a space that wasn’t being used very efficiently before,” said Earl Rothfus, the Chautauqua Bookstore manager.
The CHQ Store is taking the place of the Poetry Makerspace in Hultquist Center, previously a branch of Chautauqua Literary Arts, which had been established in partnership with Kent State University.
“The [makerspace] lost some of its energy and funding, so we moved into it,” Rothfus said.
The store began development in early spring of this year, according to Rothfus, and finished just before the start of Week One. The new store is designed to carry premium brands, which Rothfus said Keogh identified as an area of improvement for the patron experience.
“He believed pretty strongly that there was a customer we weren’t doing a good job for at the [Chautauqua Bookstore],” Rothfus said. “There’s a customer that likes more premium brands like Lululemon, Peter Millar or Johnnie-O. He had heard from Chautauquans that it was the kind of branded clothing they were interested in buying.”
Rothfus noted that an idea for another bookstore had existed for a while, but came to existence this season. The shop is located inside the updated security perimeter which was first implemented during the pre-season Wilco concert. The new security change broadened the security perimeter and gates, allowing easier access to Hultquist Center.
“The barriers are going up the porch of Hultquist to put the new [CHQ Store] within the security perimeter, so the bathrooms can be used during a show,” said Billy Joe Leone, chief of campus safety and security. “With that, we’re moving ticketing outside of the security perimeter in the lobby of the building.”
With the addition of concessions and the CHQ Store, ticketing was moved with intentions of making Odland Plaza less clustered.
“It’s a big change for long-term patrons,” said Linda Baglia, senior project manager of patron services. “Even though it’s a few more steps for patrons, it’s not as congested and it’s not as loud,” Baglia said. “I’d say it’s an improvement.”
