Airport Experience® News - ACDBE 2023

There’s one major success story that serves as an example of what’s possible for ACDBE-certified businesses: Master ConcessionAir (MCA) is one of few ACDBEs to graduate the program and become a prime concessionaire, which it did in 2019. Before this achievement, whenMCAwas still an ACDBE, it went up against primes in a bid for a 4,600-square-foot restaurant space in Orlando International Airport (MCO) and won, opening Cask & Larder, a proprietary Southern-inspired concept with a restaurant, marketplace and satellite bar. “We poured our heart and soul into that RFP response; everything about this submittal was unique and genuine— from the book cover to the design to the menu, it was carefully thought out,” says Peter Amaro, MCA’s CEO and co-founder. “The tree in the center of the restaurant alone cost us over $150,000. In a manner of speaking, we swung for the fences and hit it out of the park.” Due to the success of Cask & Larder, MCA was well on track to earning its prime concessionaire status, and the company’s first win as a prime was a large food and beverage package consisting of six locations in the new MCO South Terminal. The airport liked the original Cask & Larder so much that they chose it again for another location in the new terminal. “A big reason we have been successful is because of the experience we received from having been an ACDBE - you have a

Above: Master ConcessionAir is one of a handful of former ACDBEs to become a prime concessionaire, which it did in 2019. MCA’s first win as a prime was a large food and beverage package at Orlando International Airport consisting of six locations in the airport’s new South Terminal (pictured).

clearer vision of what the program sets out to do when you’ve seen it from all sides,” Amaro adds. “You also have a sincere connection and sensitivity toward the community and its local brands. We want to give them the opportunity to succeed. It is our responsibility to mentor them and pass along necessary information so they don’t have to make the mistakes we’ve already made.” A Promising Landscape Amaro adds that he believes that today’s environment lends itself to having more ACDBE inclusion. “Airports are becoming destinations reflecting their communities

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