It all started with an unexpected meeting between McDonough and Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren in February, shortly after the team hired Ben Johnson as the team's head coach. McDonough, a sales executive and second-generation Bears Season Ticket Holder, was meeting with a customer at a local steakhouse when he saw Warren come out of the elevator.
"I thought, 'you know what, I'm going to say hi,'" McDonough recalled. "And it was right after the Bears signed Ben Johnson as the new head coach, so I'm like, 'congrats on Ben Johnson.' I mentioned I'm a Season Ticket Holder, big Bears fan, and he was so energetic. He's like, 'how long have you been going to Soldier Field?'"
McDonough proceeded to explain that his father originally bought the tickets, so he had been attending Bears games for decades. Warren asked if McDonough had a few minutes to spare, saying, "I have a meeting going on upstairs and I think you could help us out."
The meeting, which McDonough didn't realize at the time, was between the Bears and Levy Restaurants as the organizations were in discussions about new ideas and changes to gameday hospitality at Soldier Field for the 2025 season.
"I sat down in the chair, and Kevin was just like, 'so this is food and beverage and hospitality at Soldier Field, what can we do to make the game day experience better? Go,'" McDonough said.
After providing some feedback, McDonough brought up his family of five — wife, Kellianne, sons Ryan and Liam and Molly.
"I just said that every single year I take the kids to a preseason game and Molly says the same thing to me," McDonough said. "Every time I go to a venue or a restaurant, it's, 'Dad, do they have mac and cheese here?' And I was like, 'unfortunately, I don't think they do.' I just mentioned that."