North Carolina-based Tailwind Concessions announced the acquisition of a Florida-based regional airport concessionaire and, separately, four food and beverage concessions located at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA). Tailwind acquired Oakwells, a Winter Park-based concessionaire founded in 2004 currently operating full-service as well as grab and go concessions in twelve U.S. airports, as well as four food and beverage concepts from Kind Hospitality, an Arizona-based concessionaire founded in 1996. Tailwind has significantly expanded its portfolio across small and mid-sized airports since partnering with Palladin Consumer Retail Partners to acquire competitor Air Host in 2021, and now operates over 160 airport concessions across the U.S.
“We welcome Oakwells, along with its impressive team and operations, to the Tailwind family,” said Tailwind CEO Jeff Switzer. “We are excited to partner with Mike Reilly, founder, and CEO of Oakwells, who will also join the Tailwind team post-close along with his over 100 employees, to ensure a successful combination of the businesses and continue to provide best-in-class service and responsiveness to our airport partners.”
“We have long competed with Tailwind in the airport market, and it was great working with the Tailwind team to get this transaction done,” added Oakwells president Mike Reilly. “We’re confident that our employees and airport partners will mesh with Tailwind’s strong customer-first culture to ensure the continued growth of the combined business.”
Switzer noted that Tailwind views its deal with Kind Hospitality as “more as a partnership, not an acquisition, with [owner] Nava [Thursaisingam] and his impressive team and look forward to partnering together on other airport opportunities in the future.”
