See what's cooking at the airport
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
| |||
 |
|
||
Travelers will see new restaurants and eateries at the Honolulu International Airport within the next three years, including Gordon Biersch Restaurant and Brewery, Wolfgang Puck Grab & Go and Cold Stone Creamery.
Dining and shopping concessionaire HMSHost Corp. said yesterday it has extended its lease with the Honolulu airport through 2014 and that it will invest a minimum $8 million at the airport over the term of the lease. Its plans call for several full-service restaurants and take-out dining concessions over the next two to three years, the Bethesda, Md.-based company said in a news release.
"We will significantly elevate the tourist experience at Honolulu International," said HMSHost president and CEO Elie W. Maalouf.
Airport officials hope the new restaurants, which include internationally recognized brands, will attract more customers and ultimately increase airport revenues for the state. Under the agreement, HMSHost will pay the state a minimum $4.8 million a year or a percentage of food and beverage sales, whichever is greater.
HMSHost, a subsidiary of Italy-based Autogrill S.p.A., began the expansion last month with the opening of a Starbucks Coffee outside of the security screening stations. It is the first food and beverage service located outside of checkpoints at the Honolulu airport, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
Planned eateries at the airport include:
The interisland terminal will also have an Island Brews concession, and the Garden View Food Court in the main terminal will feature a Cold Stone Creamery, Jamba Juice and Sbarro's.
"We really wanted to bring in some brand-name restaurants to the airport the same way the Mainland airports have been doing since 9/11," Ishikawa said.
Airports across the country have been reconfiguring their concession marketing strategies since restrictions following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks barred people without airline tickets from going past security checkpoints, he said. The restriction limited the customer base for many airport concessions and forced the businesses to do more to keep sales up.
Most of the restaurants to be opened by HMSHost will be in locations past checkpoints, but state and HMSHost officials are closely monitoring the newly opened Starbucks, which is "doing really well," Ishikawa said. The department has received "a lot of requests" from the public to have food service outlets in areas accessible to people without airline tickets, he said.
"We're going to keep an eye on it and see whether there's more potential for businesses on the outside as well," Ishikawa said.
HMSHost will submit a plan to the state Department of Transportation on whether its existing operations — including Pizza Hut and Burger King — will continue or be replaced by the new eateries, Ishikawa said.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.
