Tucson International (TUS) will award new food and beverage and retail contracts in a move approved Wednesday by the Tucson Airport Authority Board of Directors.
Creative Food Group LLC, in partnership with Local Food Concepts LLC, will operate food and beverage concessions at the airport beginning March 2017. On the retail side, a joint venture led by Hudson Group Retailers LLC, in partnership with Tucson-based Poravion LLC and Phoenix-based Cambios y Servicios Inc., will operate a range of local and national brand stores.
The approval follows the recommendations of four-member selection committees made up of TAA member representatives and TAA management. They evaluated two responses to a Request For Proposals for the food and beverage contract and four proposals for the news, gift and specialty retail contract.
The new contracts are part of a $28.3 million terminal improvement project slated for completion in November 2017.
Construction on the new concessions will start March 1, 2017, and is scheduled to be completed in phases through the end of 2017. The food and beverage concessions contract runs for 10 years with two one-year options. The new agreement for news, gift and specialty retail is for eight years with two one-year options.
“This is the airport’s opportunity to showcase the many things that are unique to the southern Arizona region,” said Bonnie Allin, president and CEO of the Tucson Airport Authority.
Under the new agreements, travelers using the airport will see food and beverage options with local brand names, including Beyond Bread, El Charro Café, The Maverick, Noble Hops, Sir Veza’s Taco Garage, Thunder Canyon Brewery and Arbuckle’s Coffee. The local brands will be intermingled with national brands like Bruegger’s, BUILT Custom Burgers, Dunkin’ Donuts and Pie Five Pizza.
The retail concepts will be redesigned and themed to capture iconic cultural influences of the Tucson region, such as a traditional mercado and tienditas (small stores) and historic influences using works of local artisans. Hudson Group will open the Arroyo Trading Post, including Agustín Kitchen Express, in the pre-security Centre Pointe area. Post-security retail options on the concourses will include stores named Hudson Gates Pass and Hudson Fort Lowell, along with Tucson Tienditas, Mission Marketplace, Ink, Spirit, See’s Candies, Kids Works, Belkin and Sunglass Icon.
