Airport’s new restaurants, shops busy, could help bottom line
PERRY BEEMAN Jan 5, 2018 | 4:03 pm
4 min read time
950 wordsAll Latest News, Business Record Insider, Retail and Business, TransportationDes Moines airport officials report brisker business at the terminal’s bars, restaurants and gift shops since a major makeover in the past year.
We took a tour with airport Executive Director and General Manager Kevin Foley a while back to see the new offerings.
DSM Concessions LLC (part of Aero Service Group Inc.) now runs the food and beverage concession, with Hudson Group Retail LLC running the news and gift shops.
Foley said travelers, those waiting to pick up passengers, and even airport employees have shown up in larger numbers.
It wasn’t uncommon to see little use of the old bar area near the ticket counters, before you got to security. Now, that comfort-food restaurant and bar, Berk & Chester’s, often has dozens of people grabbing a beer or a meal.
“This is a sit-down restaurant,” Foley said. “Wait staff will come and wait on you. It’s a full-service bar that is visible. Before, the bar was hidden. You couldn’t see it. You couldn’t find it.”
We took a tour with airport Executive Director and General Manager Kevin Foley a while back to see the new offerings.
DSM Concessions LLC (part of Aero Service Group Inc.) now runs the food and beverage concession, with Hudson Group Retail LLC running the news and gift shops.
Foley said travelers, those waiting to pick up passengers, and even airport employees have shown up in larger numbers.
It wasn’t uncommon to see little use of the old bar area near the ticket counters, before you got to security. Now, that comfort-food restaurant and bar, Berk & Chester’s, often has dozens of people grabbing a beer or a meal.
“This is a sit-down restaurant,” Foley said. “Wait staff will come and wait on you. It’s a full-service bar that is visible. Before, the bar was hidden. You couldn’t see it. You couldn’t find it.”
Des Moines isn’t a hub, so typically the restaurants haven’t done the business that comes with travelers during a layover. But this restaurant is getting some traffic from travelers. “We see people who are outbound and they have luggage in tow and they stop here and eat before they go through security,” Foley said. “There is considerably more traffic through here then there was.”
Next door is a Hudson Group gift shop. The company has operations in about 70 airports, Foley said. “There is very little business pre-security at airports anymore, but you still have to have a presence,” Foley said. The shop decided against bidding on an additional 700 square feet that was available. That went for the next-door bar.
Hudson decided to do a design along the top of the facade that starts with farming on one end, shows the Trestle Bridge, and then moves on to the Des Moines skyline. It might be more of a secret than intended. “No one notices,” Foley said with a laugh.
A corner bar beyond the security check ended up being so popular that the airport briefly considered scrapping plans to turn it into a grab-and-go. Foley said the bar was highly visible — it took in $6,000 in one Friday — and travelers packed the sitting area next to it. In the end, the airport changed the bar back to a grab-and-go food stop, Mill Supply.
Not far down the A concourse, Arugula and Rye — which is near a newish set of phone-charging stations — offers a deli with a salad bar, oatmeal bar, and flatbreads made to order. Wine and beer are served, too, some in stackable cups.
The most recent addition was Portermill, a large restaurant and bar with Iowa craft beers and some wide views of the airport runway areas. And, hey, the airport is all about flights — in this case, beer flights. Portermill is focusing on locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. A full bar offers a range of wines and cocktails.
The food and beverage operations are part of a new approach that grew out of airport officials’ frustration that previous vendors weren’t improving the spaces as required. “The passenger experience was not what we wanted, and it didn’t represent Central Iowa or Iowa the way we thought it should,” Foley said. “The landside bar wasn’t inviting.”
The airport decided to take on more risk, which also opens the possibility of higher income from the operations.
“We run food and beverage now,” instead of just taking a percentage, Foley said. “We contracted with Aero Service Group (of Minneapolis) to run it. We are not restaurateurs. They had been running Friedrich’s and Bergin Fruit & Nut Co. at the airport.
Airport officials expect to take in an additional $1.2 million on the food and beverage. “We had been making $700,000” a year, Foley said. “Even if all we do is make the same amount of money we were making on this, we are controlling the passenger experience and the image of the airport and of Central Iowa to a much greater degree.”
He continued: “We have to pay for the construction. That’s why we made the change. The private sector said to get that return of 15 percent, they would need 10 years.” Companies wanted the airport to buy back the unamortized portion of the construction costs if the deal was under a decade. Foley figured the airport might as well have a crack at the upside of the sales if it was going to be exposed to the downside anyway.
The remodeling of the food and beverage areas cost $1.5 million, which the airport will pay back over a couple of years. The management deal is for five years, with renewal possible.
A Hudson gift shop next to the gate areas has Iowa-themed T-shirts, Garnavillo-based Great Maple Syrup, Field of Dreams memorabilia and other Iowa-related items.
The airport also has changed out its advertising contracts for the walls. “We made them take the wraps down and, as I say, ‘If you wouldn’t put it in your living room, you don’t get to put it in the terminal,’” Foley said. Tension fabric displays took over most of the spots, with backlighting. “It is relatively inexpensive to put up, but it just makes everything pop,” Foley said. “It’s so much brighter.” Clear Channel Airports is selling the space under contract for a percentage.
The airport makes a tad over $300,000 a year on advertising. “Every little bit helps,” Foley said.
Much of the advertising is for colleges and universities. Gone is the Templeton Rye display, which Foley said ran through its contract, and was taking up room needed for seating.
Next door is a Hudson Group gift shop. The company has operations in about 70 airports, Foley said. “There is very little business pre-security at airports anymore, but you still have to have a presence,” Foley said. The shop decided against bidding on an additional 700 square feet that was available. That went for the next-door bar.
Hudson decided to do a design along the top of the facade that starts with farming on one end, shows the Trestle Bridge, and then moves on to the Des Moines skyline. It might be more of a secret than intended. “No one notices,” Foley said with a laugh.
A corner bar beyond the security check ended up being so popular that the airport briefly considered scrapping plans to turn it into a grab-and-go. Foley said the bar was highly visible — it took in $6,000 in one Friday — and travelers packed the sitting area next to it. In the end, the airport changed the bar back to a grab-and-go food stop, Mill Supply.
Not far down the A concourse, Arugula and Rye — which is near a newish set of phone-charging stations — offers a deli with a salad bar, oatmeal bar, and flatbreads made to order. Wine and beer are served, too, some in stackable cups.
The most recent addition was Portermill, a large restaurant and bar with Iowa craft beers and some wide views of the airport runway areas. And, hey, the airport is all about flights — in this case, beer flights. Portermill is focusing on locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. A full bar offers a range of wines and cocktails.
The food and beverage operations are part of a new approach that grew out of airport officials’ frustration that previous vendors weren’t improving the spaces as required. “The passenger experience was not what we wanted, and it didn’t represent Central Iowa or Iowa the way we thought it should,” Foley said. “The landside bar wasn’t inviting.”
The airport decided to take on more risk, which also opens the possibility of higher income from the operations.
“We run food and beverage now,” instead of just taking a percentage, Foley said. “We contracted with Aero Service Group (of Minneapolis) to run it. We are not restaurateurs. They had been running Friedrich’s and Bergin Fruit & Nut Co. at the airport.
Airport officials expect to take in an additional $1.2 million on the food and beverage. “We had been making $700,000” a year, Foley said. “Even if all we do is make the same amount of money we were making on this, we are controlling the passenger experience and the image of the airport and of Central Iowa to a much greater degree.”
He continued: “We have to pay for the construction. That’s why we made the change. The private sector said to get that return of 15 percent, they would need 10 years.” Companies wanted the airport to buy back the unamortized portion of the construction costs if the deal was under a decade. Foley figured the airport might as well have a crack at the upside of the sales if it was going to be exposed to the downside anyway.
The remodeling of the food and beverage areas cost $1.5 million, which the airport will pay back over a couple of years. The management deal is for five years, with renewal possible.
A Hudson gift shop next to the gate areas has Iowa-themed T-shirts, Garnavillo-based Great Maple Syrup, Field of Dreams memorabilia and other Iowa-related items.
The airport also has changed out its advertising contracts for the walls. “We made them take the wraps down and, as I say, ‘If you wouldn’t put it in your living room, you don’t get to put it in the terminal,’” Foley said. Tension fabric displays took over most of the spots, with backlighting. “It is relatively inexpensive to put up, but it just makes everything pop,” Foley said. “It’s so much brighter.” Clear Channel Airports is selling the space under contract for a percentage.
The airport makes a tad over $300,000 a year on advertising. “Every little bit helps,” Foley said.
Much of the advertising is for colleges and universities. Gone is the Templeton Rye display, which Foley said ran through its contract, and was taking up room needed for seating.
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