A renovated Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) opened April 13, the culmination of several years of infrastructure development at the airport. The redeveloped terminal, which cost $68 million, has 11 new shops and restaurants, more natural lighting and new artwork.
Marshall Retail Group is operating four retail stores: One Stop (two locations), a combination bookstore, newsstand and convenience mart; Marshall Rousso, a women’s clothing store featuring the company’s signature collection along with brands such as Guess, Carina, Bebe, Tianna B. and Tommy Bahama; and Ruby Blue, an accessories store featuring jewelry, scarves, belts, handbags, watches, wallets and bags. Terminal 1 also has the airport’s second Techshowcase store.
HMSHost Corp. is operating three food and beverage concepts – ACC American Cafe, La Tapenade Mediterranean Cafe and Starbucks – through a joint venture with JQ Enterprises. The ACC American Cafe is the first officially licensed restaurant from the Atlantic Coast Conference athletic conference. The full-service restaurant features locally sourced items, with focus on seafood, steak, sandwiches and pasta.
Airport Concessionaire Disadvantaged Business Enterprise-certified Uptown Airport Group is operating Char-Grill, a quick-serve restaurant offering burgers, fries and shakes, as well as breakfast; and Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, a Charlotte-based Mexican-style restaurant.
RDU says the many of the food and beverage concessionaires have pledged to source ingredients locally when feasible. On the retail side, Marshall Retail partnered with the Raleigh and Durham convention and visitors bureaus to identify regional vendors.
“It’s almost endless what we will have, not only from North Carolina but from our very own triangle,” Ingrid Hairston, business development director at RDU, said in a video blog post. Noting the variety of ways concessionaires will be using or selling local products, Hairston said, “We’re really excited to show our travelers a little bit about our region itself, our cities and our people.”
Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways operate from the renovated Terminal 1. RDU says the completion of the renovation “marks the end of a major era of infrastructure development at RDU.” The development period began in the late 1990s with the construction of the airport’s first parking garage, followed by the General Aviation Terminal, Terminal 2, and ending with the modernization of Terminal 1.
