Airport Experience® News - ACDBE 2023

Below: Competitive bidding that is limited to small businesses has resulted in new leases at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. One winner is Nowitzki’s, an entertainment bar featuring the brand of NBA star Dirk Nowitzki in a sports/celebrity-themed restaurant.

While there still are long-standing, industry-wide challenges for Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Entities (ACDBE) with respect to raising capital, licensing and overcoming other airport-specific barriers, several airports have stepped in with programs aimed at leveling the playing field. The goal, of course, is to ensure small and minority owned businesses have the tools needed to win contracts and operate effectively. The Chicago Department of Aviation , for example, in April introduced an ordinance designed to ensure ongoing viability of the small businesses operating at Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) airports. The ordinance, which at press time was awaiting city council consideration, would permit the CDA to continue to provide relief

to concessions operators at both airports. CDA Commissioner Jamie Rhee notes that the ACDBE participation rate is about 38% at ORD, while MDW boasts an industry leading 55%ACDBE participation rate. “Through no fault of their own, many of these businesses were unable to acquire the financing, materials, and staffing necessary to open in a timely manner under business terms negotiated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rhee said in a press release announcing the program. “This ordinance provides the CDA the f lexibility to re-establish those terms, and to ensure operational needs continue to be met.” The ordinance would permit the CDA to amend existing agreements with concessionaires to allow for the revision of development timelines that were set prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the alteration

27

A X N E W S A C D B E I S S U E 2 0 2 3