Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2023

“We’re learning lessons about passenger behaviors,” Johnson says. “I would say it’s still predominantly people walking up to the kiosk, ordering it from the kiosk and picking it up from the locker. People aren’t taking advantage of the delivery and their mobile ordering function as much as we thought they would.” There has been more foot traffic in recent months and profitability came quicker than expected, Johnson says. The concept underwent an evolution during the year, with Johnson taking on day-to day operations while REEF became more of a branding and technology supplier, according to Johnson. Expansion Planned David Freedman, senior vice president and chief revenue officer at RDU, said that revenue in July 2023 doubled that of the ghost kitchen’s first month of operation in July 2022. “There have been a couple months in between where we had a little bit of a low, but from a revenue perspective right now, it’s doing quite well,” he says. From a guest amenity and experience perspective, he adds, it’s been extremely successful. The brand offerings have been flexible and changed a few times to match passenger desires. Younger passengers especially have embraced the order-ahead technology.

Above: Passengers can order in advance via getREEF Virtual Food Hall at RDU then pick up their order from a locker near their gate.

REEF, Hubb Partnership At RDU Across the country in North Carolina, REEF opened its version of the virtual food hall at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in July 2022, in partnership with Airport Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program partner Hubb Kitchens . The tandem has also seen some success, increasing its brand count from nine to 12 throughout the year, says Jason Johnson, founder and managing member of Hubb Kitchens.

40

A X N E W S F O O D & B E V E R A G E I S S U E 2 0 2 3