The Atlanta City Council approved new airport concessions contracts on Tuesday night after several hours of heated debate. The final vote was 12-3 in favor of granting contracts to the concessionaires recommended by an Atlanta Department of Aviation panel. The contracts include 126 food and beverage locations and 24 retail locations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and the new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal.
“These new concessions contracts will generate $51 million in annual revenues, an increase of more than $23 million, and ensure that the 90 million travelers who pass through Hartsfield-Jackson each year have world-class food, beverage and retail options,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a statement. “With the opening of the new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal this spring, Atlanta’s position as the global capital of the Southeast will be secure for decades to come.” The annual rent from the new concessions program at Hartsfield-Jackson is projected to generate about $2 million per month in additional revenue to the airport.
The recommendations include a large number of new food and retail locations that will be located throughout the airport and the new international terminal, scheduled to open in spring 2012. Many of the new restaurants are well-known local eateries, including The Varsity, Shane’s Rib Shack, Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint and The Pecan. Some of the recommended retail locations include familiar and new high-end shops such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Omega, Bvlgari, Swarovski, and Tommy Hilfiger.
The City Council meeting was volatile, press reports said, as individuals and groups claimed the big contract winners were major campaign donors to Mayor Reed. Some also complained that the members of the selection committee were not identified, nor were meetings open to the public.
ATL aviation general manager Louis Miller defended the process in a statement.
“This has been the most transparent and open procurement process I have been a part of in my more than 30 years in the aviation industry,” he said. “We are pleased that our new concessions program has been approved, and we can move forward in providing our customers with an exciting array of new dining and retail options in the coming months. The food and beverage program will create a sense of place for our customers and will offer a variety of new and local restaurateurs and companies to the airport.”
The contracts are grouped into five large food and beverage packages in multiple locations, four small food and beverage packages in two to three locations, and two retail packages in multiple locations. Winners of the large food and beverage packages are HMS Host Corp./Atlanta Chefs joint venture (2 packages); Concessions/H&H joint venture; Hojeij Branded Foods Inc.; and Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services Atlanta Partners.
Winners of the small food and beverage packages were Atlanta Restaurant Partners; Global Concessions Inc.; Mack II, Inc.; and Vida-Velocity Management LLC. For retail, awards went to LTL ATL joint venture and Paradies-Atlanta II, LLC.
