Airport Experience® News - Customer Service Issue 2024

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

have partnered with Hudson for travel convenience and specialty retail, while local New York-based Samantha Alexis Consulting has partnered for special retail. Kellee Communications, an Atlanta- based ACDBE operator and partner, will also mentor newer partners. In addition, a local-focused food hall will feature ACDBE firms. Local eateries Di Fara Pizza and Alidoro Café will be featured in the new T6 in partnership with M&R Concessions, a local ACDBE operator.

BKLYN Blend, Fuku and Hanoi House will have a presence with locations operated by ACDBE firm Olympic Supply. To lower the barrier of entry and to support small businesses, JMP will design and build several dedicated spaces at its own cost for local retailers and graduates of the Port Authority’s Institute of Concessions (IOC) program to sell their products. “We’re really conscious about removing the barriers in terms of finance and design, and also from the effort of [responding] with a big proposal,” says Patel. “We also know that perhaps they don’t have the talent on staff on the design and construction side – well, we have a whole team for that.” For the food hall operators, JFK Millennium Partners eschewed the typical RFP process for concessions. “There was no real RFP process, we just gave them the

rules of the road,” says Patel. “It was very short and succinct – we didn’t have to have hundreds of pages [like a typical RFP}].” Of the new small businesses added to the roster, BKLYN Blend and Tsion Café are graduates of the JFK Institute of Concessions, an initiative that helps prepare small, local and diverse businesses for concessions opportunities at the airport. The program is structured as a series of interactive sessions, workshops, and networking events, spanning 10 weeks. Businesses have opportunities to engage with subject matter experts and industry leaders, with the goal of the new operators gaining the insights needed to thrive in the airport environment. “In our role as the activator, the facilitator, or even the integrator, we’re just trying to help bring all these different groups of people and businesses together for everyone to benefit,” says Patel. Additional food and beverage in Phase 1 is also on tap, including a full-service restaurant. For Phase 2, more opportunities are in the works, and Patel says the focus, again, will be on local involvement, including a turnkey facility where JFK Millennium Partners invests in the infrastructure and local companies can try their brands in the airport. “It gives people the opportunity to come in and get a little taste for the airport with what isn’t a significant capital investment,” Patel says. “The whole idea is to provide opportunity at the lowest possible cost so they can focus on their products, their staff, their POS. It also provides a choice for the passenger – we’ll have a rotating program so our offer will continue to be fresh and unique.”

Below: The state-of-the-art JFK T6 will feature the latest technology to streamline passenger movements, lots of natural light and a broad selection of concessions with focus on local brands operated by local businesses.

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AX NEWS OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2024