The winners of this year’s ACI-NA’s Excellence in Airport Concessions Awards were announced on April 26 at the Business of Airports conference in Palm Springs, California. I was honored to be one of the three judges this year and as a group, we were happy to see a good variety of proposals.
This year’s winner of the overall Richard A. Greisbach Award of Excellence was awarded to Portland International Airport. The judges felt that Portland had a great and well-balanced concessions program with national and local food and retail outlets that are unique to the Rose City. Some of those brands include the rotating food truck program, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the iconic Powell’s Books and the Dragontree Spa. We also acknowledged Boston-Logan International Airport’s C/E terminals for a great effort in transforming a public space.
Concessions Person of the Year went to Randy Goodman, director of concessions at Houston Airport System (HAS). Director of Aviation Mario Diaz lauded Goodman, with HAS since 1994, for his leadership in improving the concessions at George Bush Intercontinental and Houston Hobby airports. “Randy has shepherded the HAS concessions program with great effectiveness and led his team through encouragement, professionalism development and a drive for improvement,” he wrote.
The judges congratulate all the winners in what was a spirited contest this year. Here are highlights of some of the winners who stood out.
The judges started with the Best Food & Beverage program, broken down into large, medium and small airports. In the large category, first place went to Westfield for Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminals T2 and T6. We felt that Westfield brought a real feel of Southern California in both terminals with concepts including BUILT (Custom Burgers), SLAPFISH Modern Seafood Shack, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos and Point the Way Cafe.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 won second place for local favorites like celebrity Chef Rick Bayliss’ Tortas Frontera, RJ Grunts Burgers & Fries and Hub 51. Third place went to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal D, which showcases local brands including two restaurants by popular local Chef Stephen Pyles, CRU Food & Wine Bar and Cantina Laredo, balanced with the expected national brands.
In the medium category, Sacramento International Airport -- a Griesbach winner in 2012 -- won first place for its local-centric eateries in Terminals A and B. New additions of street-side restaurants included Paesanos, burger joint Squeeze Inn and Iron Horse Tavern in Terminal A. Edmonton International Airport won second place for places like Harvey’s for burgers, Caffe Sorrentino and Cookies By George. In the small category, Madison, Wisconsin’s Dane County Airport won for having a modest offering that packs a punch under the Wisconsin Marketplace banner. Restaurants include Ancora Artisan Coffee & Tea, which roasts onsite, the Mad Town Gastropub and Metcalfe’s Local to Go and restaurant that showcases local brands.
Under Best Innovative Consumer Experience Concept/Practice, the hands-down winner was Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows Mountain Concierge at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The store offers a life-size cardboard cut-out of Olympic skier Jonny Moseley and customers can buy ski tickets and locally branded ski merchandise, pick up season passes ordered online, take virtual mountain tours, get information on local resorts and relax in a Tahoe-centric guest lounge. The judges felt it was a great use of the space and that other airports could adapt the concept to offer a similar service.
Second place was Hartsfield-Jackson’s pre-security Taste of Atlanta event, where passengers could get food samples from some of the airport’s eateries. Third place was Dallas/Fort Worth’s DFW Military Exodus for the Holidays, with concessions and retail outlets open for 24 hours offering special services for military members on their way home.
In August, I wrote a story about the rise of independent airport lounges, which included the winner of Best New Consumer Service Concept, Escapes Lounge, for its outlets at Oakland International and Bradley airports. The judges praised the company for bringing the lounge concept to airports that might not have airline lounges (although Bradley does have an American Airlines Admirals Club). And while Escapes was a worthy winner, we would have liked to see more entries in this category.
The Best New Food & Beverage Concept - Full Service has become very competitive, and it was difficult for us to choose three winners. First place went to OTG Management’s Saison at Newark-Liberty International Airport in Terminal C. The judges felt like the restaurant makes customers feel like they’re eating in a French bistro. It was a battle, but Rock & Brew at Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 1 was second and RumFish Grill in Tampa International Airport’s Airside C terminal was a close third. If we had an honorable mention, it would have gone to Osteria by Fabio Viviani (a popular “Top Chef” contestant) at LAX.
We had another strong competition and a clear winner in the Best New Food & Beverage - Quick-Serve category: Angel Bakery and Donut Bar at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The bakery, run by a mother-daughter team, is a version of the popular local restaurant Hell’s Kitchen, which also has an on-site bakery. It features an open kitchen that allows travelers to see the bakers and work and the baked goods are not your normal pre-packaged items -- they’re craft donuts, creative cupcakes and baked-from-scratch cookies. Grindhouse Killer Burgers at Hartsfield-Jackson was a strong second place for bringing a popular local concept known for amazing hamburgers and milkshakes to the airport. Wow Bao at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was our third place pick.
The judges were impressed with the number and the quality of the entries in the Best New Local Concept category. Again, it was a tough call, but we chose Portland International Airport’s The Country Cat Dinnerhouse and Bar for successfully bringing a very popular local concept to the terminal. It was also lauded for having a very visually striking grab-and-go food area attached to the restaurant. Second place went to Kapnos Taverna, a concept created by “Top Chef” contestant Mike Isabella for Reagan National Airport. And third place went to Hurley's, an outpost of a popular local Irish bar located at Montreal-Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
The Best New News & Gift Concept category is always interesting, because how many different ways can you present it? But airports rose to the challenge, giving us three strong winners. First place went to MSP Explore Afar at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It’s the first time the travel brand Afar has partnered with an airport, and it offers convenience and news in interactive zones with listening stations and interactive touch screens. It also boasts an eye-catching, two-story storefront that draws in customers. Second place went to Texas Monthly at George Bush Intercontinental Airport for bringing a strong brand to the usual generic news-branded news stands and offering travelers a coffee bar that’s open 24 hours a day. Third place went to Shady Lane, a unique upscale news stand with a forest theme at Houston Hobby Airport.
Every year airports raise the bar for Best New Retail Concept, and this year was no exception. We chose the TUMI/Swarovski store at Tampa International Airport because we were intrigued at how two seemingly disparate stores worked so well together. Second place went to the MAC make-up store at Houston Hobby and third went to Mountain Concierge at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, which also won the award for Best Innovative Consumer Experience Concept/Practice.
The judges broke down the winners of the Best Retail Program category into small, medium and large airports. In the large category, we chose Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Terminal 1 for showcasing 18 new retail stores (a mix of national and local brands) that opened between June 30, 2016, and November 30, 2016. Of the 18 stores, 16 are already surpassing their financial goals. Second place went to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport’s Concourse A/B program for its mix of familiar national brands and local brands unique to the Baltimore-D.C. area.
In the medium airport category, first place went to Edmonton International Airport for its mix of national and Canadian brands including Indigo Spirit, which is helping celebrate the country’s 150th birthday with a special themed gift line to tempt travelers. There was no winner in the small category because there were no submissions.
Every year, ACI-NA and I post guidelines to what makes a winning submission. The shame is that we had several potentially great entries that were rejected because the guidelines were ignored. So here are the tips, again.
- Make sure you enter the correct category. We saw several entries that would have been strongly considered if they had been in the right one.
- Concessionaires and airports should discuss submissions together before submitting them.
- Restaurants and retail, please include a menu/sample list of items sold, a map of the location in the airport and professional photos of your food/goods.
- Videos, published media stories/blog posts and social media comments go a long way in boosting a presentation.
- Show us the money!! A big part of the judge’s consideration is if the concept is making money.
- Give us complete presentations that tell your story. If you’re submitting in more than one category, create separate ones for each.
- We need more submissions from medium, small and Canadian airports. Please.
