Almost a year after a tornado heavily damaged Concourse C Lambert-St. Louis International (STL), the airport is slated to reopen the concourse for the first flights April 2.
“We made a commitment to the St. Louis region to restore and reopen the concourse as quickly as possible,” says Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. “Our airport partners, along with countless crews and contractors, have been working tirelessly over the last several months to complete tornado repairs and complete other renovations that were already planned for the concourse prior to the tornado. The end result will be the experience of a brand new concourse.”
The concourse sustained heavy roof, widow and interior damage from the twister and related storms April 22.
“The repairs and renovations have made the C Concourse look better than ever,” says St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay. “I’m confident that these repairs and upgrades will make traveling through Lambert International Airport an even more enjoyable experience. I thank Airport officials for their thoughtful provisions while this concourse was closed.”
A new lineup of stores and restaurants will be available. The concourse’s reopening will debut an expanded Starbucks at Gate C2 and the addition of a second location at Gate C19. Schlafly, a local brewer, will open Beer Bar and Grill at Gate C1, and the new La Tapenade Mediterranean Cafe will open near Gate C8. Chili’s Too will make its return with a dew decor as part of its renovations.
For travelers seeking retail, Brooks Brothers will return, as will electronics and multi-media retail Bookmark Inmotion, which will open at a later date. CNBC and a new STL TravelMart will be open for sales on April 2.
While the concourse was closed, Concourse C airlines operated out of Concourses B and D; those concourses will close after final flight operations April 1. Overnight, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Cape Air will move to their home gates in the newly renovated Concourse C. The Transportation Security Administration will open the checkpoint for Concourse C at 4 a.m. April 2.
In addition to tornado repairs, previously planned renovations include a new tiled corridor, brighter ceilings, oval “cloud” lighting, renovated restrooms, new signage, digital directory maps and five sets of art glass screens created by local artists.
In other STL news…
The opening reception for “Sky High Tea: A Teapot Exhibition” will be 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 29 in The Meeting Place Gallery at the airport.
The inaugural exhibition was curated for the gallery, part of the airport’s new Art and Culture Program. The gallery shows off the city’s art scene.
The exhibit showcases teapots in glass, clay, metal and fiber. Nineteen regional artists have been invited to participate, including ceramic artists LG Barnes, Daniel Barnett, Charity Davis-Woodard, Eric Hoefer, Yukari Kashihara, Ruth Ann Reese, Dan Anderson, Susan Botswick, Yael Shormoni, and Laurie Blaesin; fiber artists Jo Stealey, Victoria Weaver, Miriam Wiegand, Ann Coddington Rast, Qun Liu; metal artists Michael Parrett and Paulette Myers; glass artist Susan Taylor Glasgow and mixed-media artist Cathy Barancik.
The gallery at Terminal 1 Bag Claim is at the passenger pick-up waiting area at the B/C/D Concourse exit. It is pre-security and accessible to all airport visitors.
The exhibit is partially underwritten by Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch & Champion LLC and runs through July 8.
