SSP America has opened Republic and LoLo American Kitchen and Craft Bar, while Aero Service Group has added Stone Arch to the dining options at Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP).
The three outlets are among 20 food and retail destinations that have arrived as part of a food and retail overhaul at both Terminals 1 and 2. Another 30 will open in the next few months.
Republic, a gastropub featuring locally crafted beer and food grown by regional farmers, opened on the D Concourse. Through a partnership with the local McNally Smith College of Music, it will also feature live music performances. LoLo, which stands for “Locally Owned, Locally Operated,” features craft cocktails and beer with an open kitchen and locally sourced food. It’s on the E Concourse.
Stone Arch, through a partnership with the Minnesota Craft Beer Guild, also celebrates the local beer community. Aero Service Group operates it in the Main Mall.
Eric Johnson, director of commercial management and airline affairs at MSP, called those some of the highlights of the early openings and says the concepts provide MSP its first large-scale opportunity to truly connect travelers with the state’s craft beer and cocktail scene.
“It’s a great opportunity for the state to get some buy-in and connection to the airport,” he says.
Delaware North and its DBE partners have opened six outlets so far. Angel Food Bakery in the E Concourse is in tandem with a local woman whose family started Hell’s Kitchen, a popular downtown Minneapolis restaurant, Johnson says. The company also has opened Como Park Essentials in the C Concourse, Estes Twin Cities News in the E Concourse, Loring Park Market in the C/D Concourse, and North Loop Market and Sunglass Hut in the Main Mall.
Pacific Gateway has opened Johnston & Murphy and Swarovski in the main mall area and BluWire in the E Concourse. MSP Innovations has placed an iStore in the Main Mall area.
Dufry has added duty free shops in the C/D Concourse and in Terminal 2, while Hudson Group has opened Hudson News stores in the C Concourse and Main Mall areas of Terminal 1 and has added a Prairie Market in the C Concourse of Terminal 1. The company also opened L’Etoile and an additional Hudson News in Terminal 2.
In addition to Republic and LoLo, SSP has added a Camden Foods in the F Concourse.
Many of the new venues are performing well, Johnson says, including several of the retail shops that have become top performers within their respective companies.
Johnson adds that 30 more food and retail outlets are slated to open in the next four months to finish out the first phase of the concessions overhaul. Solicitation for phase two is expected to be on the street by the end of the first quarter in 2017. It will cover about 30 more food and beverage locations in both Terminals 1 and 2.
