The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Board has approved the final group of new T1 concessions leases for restaurants and retail shops at San Diego International Airport in California.
A total of six concessions operators will open 19 restaurants and seven retail stores in the new T1. The first phase (19 gates) is slated to open in 2025 and the remaining 11 gates in early 2028. The concessions operators were selected to fill the 9,753m2 space for food and beverage and the 4,267m2 space for convenience retail.
The food and beverage concepts featured include Kettner Exchange, Puesto, Mostra Coffee, Parakeet Café, Better Buzz, Cutwater Restaurant & Bar, Lofty Coffee, Understory Bar & Restaurant, Novo Brewing, El Pez, Taco Stand, Ambrosio 15, Herb & Air, SIP Wine & Beer, 900A Tony Hawk Public House, Luna Grill, Mr. Moto Pizza, Carnitas Snack Shack, Grab & Go Subs, Café Moto, Chick-fil-A, and McDonald’s. The retail, convenience and gifts offering will be Gaslamp MarketPlace, Hip & Humble, SAN Supply Co. and Goods Express @ SAN, Goods Univision Travel Store, No Boundaries, The Commissary, InMotion, WH Smith, Liberty Station and the Arts District Market.
Four of the six concessionaires are new to the airport authority, while High Flying Foods and Paradies Lagardère have existing leases for restaurant and retail space. All concessions operators will have Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) certified business participation through either joint venture partnerships, subleases, or vendors/suppliers. Two leases will be assigned to or operated by an ACDBE prime concessionaire.
When selecting the concessionaires, the airport reportedly looked for a variety of local, regional and national names, while taking into consideration financial capability and experience, concept development, unit location design, materials and capital, sustainability, small business inclusion and customer service. Restaurants were required to offer menu options to meet customer needs for full-service casual dining, quick service (fast food), gourmet coffee/bakery and bars with appetizer plates. In addition, the menus are tailored to a broad variety of tastes and nutritional needs, served as breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
“We were extremely impressed with all the proposals for restaurants and retail shops we received,” said Kimberly Becker, CEO and president of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “Proposers were required to meet specific concept, design and operational criteria that will help SAN offer our customers a wide selection of regional and national brands. We were pleased that all of the proposals were competitive and compelling.”
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