Airport Experience® News - ACDBE Issue 2026

AT A GLANCE NAME OF COMPANY: Crews Hospitality HEADQUARTERS: Los Angeles (previously dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Atlanta) OWNER(S): Nick and Rob Crews YEAR FIRST AIRPORT LOCATION OPENED: 1972 NUMBER OF AIRPORT LOCATIONS: 16 AIRPORTS: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) CONCEPTS OPERATED: Built Burger (converting to Five Guys Burgers in 2027), Cava (4 locations), Double Smash Burger by Fat Sal’s, Fresh Brothers Pizza (converting to Groundwork Coffee in 2027), Fat Sal’s, Hill Top Coffee, Jersey Mike’s, Klatch Coffee, Pick Up Stix (converting to Dave’s Hot Chicken in 2027), Pizza Please, Randy’s Donut’s, Rock & Brews, Union Kitchen NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: Approximately 325 FUTURE PLANS: Crews Hospitality will continue to pursue new opportunities in select airports around the country, with a focus as a sub-lease operator and select joint ventures. In its core markets of Los Angeles and Washington DC, Crews plans to continue its long-standing operational presence and growth plan mainly as a prime operator and through established partnership opportunities.

truck and I have a badge to do it, and Nick knows how to make sandwiches because we’ve worked in the kitchens. We went from a boardroom in New York signing a deal to literally revving up a truck and making sandwiches.” Thanks to their scrappiness and know-how, the Crews brothers built the business back up and by 2021 were fully operational. “This is not a sit back and let things happen industry—you have to be proactive, not reactive,” Rob notes. “We appreciate our lineage for that.” Carrying On A Legacy When it comes to leading Crews Hospitality, Nick and Rob are all about honoring what their parents started. “We’re a family-owned business and we’ve grown to a mid-sized company, but we always want to keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive,” Nick says. “We try to manage up and empower our team members to make decisions and give them that entrepreneurial experience. We want to train and work with our team members to be able to grow and start their own businesses – but we want to treat them so well that they never leave.” “Our core principles are integrity, operational excellence and partnership,” Nick adds. “And that goes for everything internal

Airport (DCA), Crews currently operates 16 locations that are a mix of local businesses, national names, and the company’s flagship restaurant concept Cava. The majority of the locations are prime direct leases. Crews also operated 16 concepts at ATL for 17 years until the contract ended earlier this year, but the brothers plan to continue pursuing opportunities at ATL, as well as at LAX, IAD and DCA. “We want to use our operational expertise and funding of our own to partner potentially with other companies on bigger projects, and if there’s something we can go after ourselves, namely in our home markets of LA, DC, and Atlanta, we will—those are markets where we can still focus on local brands, bigger packages and contracts that are 100% Crews.” Despite the current uncertainty around the future of the ACDBE program, Nick and Rob are committed to supporting and advocating for businesses like theirs, especially considering their strong family ties to the program. “It means the world to us because our father, Bob Crews, was a founding member of AMAC, which is the heartbeat of the ACDBE program,” Rob says. “Nick and I are extremely honored by that and it’s a deep and meaningful thing for us to keep this going. Without programs like this there really is almost no room for a small company to be competitive in the space.” Nick, who is the current chair of the AMAC PAC Board of Directors, adds that it’s vital for airports to continue supporting businesses like theirs, and for ACDBEs to support one another as well. “We’re a reflection of the communities that we serve, we bring ingenuity and passion into the business, and that strengthens the airport ecosystem,” he says. “So we feel very passionate about advocating for the program, mentoring individuals, sitting on boards so that we can drive this industry forward as a whole.”

to how we deal with our airport partners, our brands and our team members.” Their partners have certainly seen these principles in action. “Decades of leadership in airport concessions have grown a business defined by excellence, vision and a strong commitment to customer experience,” says Carlos Bernal, CEO of Areas USA , which has worked with Crews Hospitality in joint ventures at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and LAX. “Their hands-on approach and dedication to community advancement reflect not just success, but a deeper purpose rooted in collaboration and growth. Together, the Crews brothers continue to elevate both their industry and the communities they serve.” Rob notes that with everything that’s been thrown at them since taking over Crews Hospitality, their approach to the business has evolved. “When Nick and I first became owners of the company our goal was to grow, grow, grow no matter what market, go after every single RFP. But now that we’ve been through Covid, we’ve experienced all these different changes in the industry, we’re strategically looking at certain markets where we can grow and get our foot in with national concepts that we operate at a high level.” The company is currently in the process of converting several smaller brands at LAX to larger national brands: In 2027, Pick Up Stix will become Dave’s Hot Chicken, Fresh Brothers Pizza will become Groundwork Coffee and Built Burger will become Five Guys Burgers. Across LAX, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National

Left: Across LAX, IAD and DCA, Crews Hospitality currently operates 16 locations that are a mix of local businesses. (Union Kitchen at IAD and Rock & Brews at LAX pictured.)

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AX NEWS JUNE 2025