Airport Experience® News - ACDBE 2023

Right: When Sheridan Mordue first talked with Paradies Lagardere about opening Hip & Humble in airports, she thought they were from outer space. Now she has stores in two airports with two more to come soon.

integrity, ensuring she has the right product mix, signage and marketing. “I’m seeing my brand grow and be exposed,” she says. “It’s been a lot of fun for me personally and professionally. And partnering with Paradies has been instrumental.” Manor Operating At LAS Mordue is one of many new players in the Airports Concessions Disadvantage Business Enterprise (ACDBE) space. Operators, airports and others have stepped up efforts in recent years as legacy ACDBE operators approach retirement and in the wake of a 2017 government report. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General released a report showing that the number of existing DBE firms working at the 65 largest airports had decreased by 3 percent and the number of new DBE firms there had decreased by 76 percent between 2012 and 2014. Another newer entrant, Anthony Manor, owner of MB Concessions , entered as a JV partner of HMSHost Corp. at the Shake Shack in Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) in 2019. Manor’s main job is with the city of Las Vegas, but he’d seen emails from LAS officials about workshops related to airport concessions. He went to his first in 2010 and met Derryl Benton, HMSHost’s executive vice president of business development. He peppered Benton with questions. “I consider myself an entrepreneur,” he says, adding that he became intrigued by concessions when he saw airports selling bottled water for $3. “So, I was just trying to look into opportunities to get into business and trying to figure out how the airport concessions business works.” Benton suggested saving up some capital and getting experience in food services, so Manor got a part-time job working at Jersey Mike’s. He attended another session in 2016, asked more questions and, by 2019, felt ready when the Shake Shack opportunity arose.

He credits Benton and Ron Gomes, outgoing vice president of strategic alliances, for communicating with partners through COVID and always being available for questions. His short-term aspirations are to continue helping operate Shake Shack. As he approaches retirement from his city position, he’s open to expanding his efforts in airports. “I absolutely want to grow,” he says. “The business has been successful. … I’m looking to see how many other opportunities I can grow this into.”

Stepping Up Efforts HMSHost has long been focused on increasing ACDBE participation and it has upped that focus since the OIG report came out, Gomes says. “We took that pretty seriously,” he says. “Since that time, pretty much any RFP we’re chasing, we’ve tried to include at least one new ACDBE in the program.” HMSHost has hired long-time industry and Federal Aviation Administration diversity insider Shelby Scales as his replacement and Devon Ray as director of

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