The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JFK Millennium Partners (JMP), the company selected to build and operate the new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, today announced that a dozen local and diverse businesses, including four from southeast Queens, are among the first partners chosen to operate concessions at the terminal, which will also include national retail shops and food and beverage operators. Local and diverse businesses, such as Di Fara Pizza, Alidoro Café, Fuku, Hanoi House and Brooklyn Blend, will provide an authentic taste of New York, while several Queens businesses owners will co-manage and own parts of the Terminal 6 retail program as joint venture partners, creating economic opportunities for businesses that call this region home.
Terminal 6 is a key component of the Port Authority’s $19 billion transformation of JFK Airport into a world-class gateway. The Port Authority and the airport’s private terminal developers and operators, including JMP, are working closely with the JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council to ensure that this historic investment generates economic and educational opportunities for the communities surrounding the airport.
The council, which is led by U.S. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., has prioritized participation by minority- and women-owned business enterprises in the overall JFK redevelopment project. To date, that effort has set a New York state record of $2.3 billion in contract awards to MWBE firms.
The Port Authority, JMP and the advisory council have engaged in a variety of initiatives to expand and increase participation by local, diverse and disadvantaged businesses in the airport’s concessions program, one of which is the Institute of Concessions (IOC). Launched in 2023, the IOC is a training and mentoring program designed to equip local and diverse businesses with the skills and competencies to compete for and successfully operate at the world-class JFK Airport.
To date, more than 25 local businesses have completed training through the IOC. Additionally, the Port Authority and the JFK terminal developers, including JMP, have engaged in extensive community outreach to recruit local and diverse businesses for concessions opportunities at the airport, in partnership with local elected officials and community partners.
“We welcome the dozen local business owners joining us at Terminal 6, where travelers will enjoy authentic products and dining experiences that represent the best of what our region has to offer,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Not only are we elevating the customer experience but we are leveraging our historic investment in our airports to create generational wealth for these diverse and local business owners.”
“From the outset of the $19 billion transformation of JFK International Airport, our goal has been to create an airport that is among the best in the world, with a customer experience that is world-class,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “By incorporating diverse, high-quality local businesses alongside national brands at JFK’s terminals, we are creating a unique New York sense of place that will hugely enhance travelers’ airport experience, while generating real and significant economic opportunities for communities neighboring the airport.”
“We are honored to collaborate with a diverse and dynamic group of small businesses and local brands to launch our Terminal 6 concessions program,” said Steve Thody, CEO of JFK Millennium Partners. “Many of these businesses connected with us for the first time at one of our numerous community outreach events last summer, illustrating the success of our efforts to ensure JFK’s surrounding community benefits economically from Terminal 6’s redevelopment. By helping diverse business owners create generational wealth and advance local economic prosperity, we aim to make a lasting positive impact on the community. We look forward to continuing our community outreach this fall as we launch the next phase of our concessions procurement, which will have a central focus on attracting additional local retail partners.”
The new Terminal 6 concessions program is expected to achieve more than 35 percent participation from companies certified as airport concessions disadvantaged business enterprises (ACDBE) under federal guidelines. The Port Authority has mandated a minimum of 30 percent ACDBE participation for the Terminal 6 concessions program.
Also announced today, Avolta companies Hudson and Dufry have been selected to open duty-free, travel convenience and specialty retail stores in the new terminal in partnership with seven ACDBE firms, including three from Queens. The seven businesses will join Avolta’s retail program as joint-venture partners. The local firms will invest in the retail businesses and share management responsibility for the various shops.
