Airport’s local-focused new gift shops, restaurants to sell craft beer, Raygun, Prada
Des Moines International Airport’s restaurants, bars and gift shops will get a massive overhaul between now and November 2017 to set up new operations that will combine plenty of local flavor with some cosmopolitan touches.
The airport agreed to spend $1 million on capital improvements on food and beverage facilities in a deal that finance director Brian Mulcahy said is riskier for the airport authority, but likely to make the airport more money over the five-year contract than it would have under previous contracts. “We are accepting more risk, but it is well worth it,” he told board members. The only trouble would come if a sharp downturn in passengers materialized.
Airport Executive Director and General Manager Kevin Foley said the five-year contract with Aero Service Group will encourage the company to rein in costs and boost sales.
Aero Service Group, which has run a coffee operation at the airport, will now run:
- Porter Mill, offering Iowa craft beers and fan favorite food like Cobb salad, burgers and a kids’ menu.
- Arugula and Rye, a deli and flatbread pizza place with a salad bar and views of the airfield.
- Mill Supply, with food in refrigerated cases.
- The company’s Friederichs operation, with coffee and smoothies, now expected to triple its sales in four years.
- Deli and quick-grab operations with chicken wings, deli items, ice cream, hot lunch specials, popcorn and hot pretzels next to a play area for kids.
Work will begin July 1, with staged projects wrapping up Nov. 30.
The airport also signed a five-year contract with Hudson Group LLC to run the gift and news shops.
Mark Rickoff, Hudson’s vice president of location development, promised to “dramatically improve the concession” given the airport’s growing traffic. Vice President Evan Schut said the storefronts will reflect Des Moines in some way, just as one in Seattle was designed to look like Pike Place, the famous fish and produce market. “But we don’t throw fish around the store, due to regulations,” Schut said with a laugh.
“The business has changed,” and the Des Moines stores need to reflect Des Moines. “It’s a sense of place.”
The gift shops will have four sections:
- Essentials, meaning health and beauty items, electronics, etc.
- Media, print and digital.
- Marketplace, with food and beverages.
- Destinations, with items from Raygun, Big Daddy’s BBQ, local universities and Sticks, which is designing products to be sold only at the airport. There’s also talk of offering Field of Dreams items and locally produced pottery.
A 5th and Sunset outlet will sell sunglasses ranging from moderately priced to Gucci and Prada and a tech section will sell a wide range of headphones and Fitbits, for example.
Trending News
