Airport Experience® News - ACDBE & Small Business Issue 2024

subtenancy makes sense –I knew it was going to take me a while but I wanted to take multiple steps.” She had already received her ACDBE certification, which she calls her “foot in the door,” but she didn’t stop there. “I got my HUB certification at the same time, and I just kept going: I got WBE certified, DBE certified, I did all these pieces with the goal of setting myself up to be not the typical ACDBE, to really be involved in how my company showed up, to be an operator.” Eyes On The Prize Mallet acknowledges that her approach to the airport business slowed her down compared to ACDBEs that agreed to joint ventures, but she cared more about being firm in her goal. “I didn’t want to do joint ventures because the only offers I got were to be a 10-percent partner while the prime runs the space and I’m just stuck being the human resources person – I didn’t want that,” she says. “I didn’t want to make impractical decisions for what my strategy was. You can learn to make adjustments and still have the long-term strategy in sight.” Her determination finally paid off: After beginning her business officially in 2009 and opening Buffalo Wild Wings and

AT A GLANCE NAME OF COMPANY: PhaseNext Hospitality HEADQUARTERS: Dallas, TX FOUNDER(S): Roz Mallet YEAR FIRST AIRPORT LOCATION OPENED: 2013 NUMBER OF AIRPORT LOCATIONS: 11, including 1 currently under construction AIRPORTS: ATL, DFW, MSP, BOS

CONCEPTS OPERATED: Buffalo Wild Wings (3), Buffalo Wild Wings GO (under construction), The Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Smashburger, Cousin’s Bar-B-Q (3) FUTURE PLANS: PhaseNext Hospitality has three additional executed Buffalo Wild Wings leases to be built in the next 15 months. Additionally, Mallet will continue to participate in selected RFPs.

Smashburger at Fort Bliss in 2010, she won her first airport contract—a subtenancy agreement with Delaware North —in 2012 at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), with a Buffalo Wild Wings that opened in 2013. And just as she had planned back when she started her business, Mallet’s experience as a subtenant eventually earned her a direct lease agreement: In 2015, she won her first independent bid to open The Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck in her home market at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). “I lost two bids before that 2015 win, but you can’t give up,” Mallet says. “You have to know where you want to go and be

patient and flexible. I just kept learning as I moved along.” Following her big 2015 win, Mallet earned two more direct leases at DFW for a Buffalo Wild Wings and a Smashburger, plus a 35-percent joint venture with a local restaurant operator called Cousin’s Bar-B-Q; another subtenant agreement with Delaware North at ATL for a Dunkin’ location; a subtenant agreement with Areas USA at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) for a Buffalo Wild Wings; and direct leases at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) for a Jimmy John’s and a Buffalo Wild Wings GO that’s currently under construction. “In 2023, my business ended at about $25.5 million in revenue,” Mallet says. “And, you know, that’s over 15 years – to me it’s really slow. But there was Covid and I did start the business in the recession. It was hard to get momentum at the beginning. But that development strategy stayed, and I’m happy with the outcome.” Looking forward, Mallet is focused on continuing to grow the business. “Dallas/ Fort Worth has an RFP out now, Atlanta has an RFP out now – it’s about growth through the RFP process,” she says. “I’m also more open to doing a joint venture with a prime concessionaire now; it’s more attractive to me because it can help accelerate my growth. And I no longer have to worry about my credibility. I’m secure that the mutual respect is there.”

Left: After building her company’s reputation as a subtenant with prime concessionaires, Mallet won her first direct lease agreement in 2015 at DFW with The Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck.

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2024