Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2025

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

to have going forward. Some of the things I’m hearing about here (at the AAAE convention) – such as AI technology – is going to be interesting. I can’t wait to see it but I don’t want to be the first one. We are in Florida and the population that comes to Florida is a little older. I don’t want to test it out until I know it’s been proven elsewhere. I want to make sure that the average customer can figure it out on their own. WARD: For your new concessions, have you gone out with RFPs yet? VANLOH: We’ve been holding back, waiting and waiting and waiting (as of June 9). I’m glad everybody has been so patient with us because we wanted to wait for the terminal to be under roof before we put the package out. [In recent years] we’ve had two operators, one for food and beverage ( HMSHost ) and one for news and gift ( Paradies Lagardère ). There are so many different and innovative ideas out there for doing package deals – we’ve been watching those. GERRETY: We’ll get the first package – the quick-serve food and beverage package – out this month (June). Then right on the heels of that, there will be another two packages. One will be retail, then the

following one will have a couple of sit-down dining options. So, three packages total, all going out in the next three months. WARD: For the quick-serve F&B, will that be a food court? GERRETY: [The restaurants] will be next to each other in one zone, in what we call food hall atrium. There are a lot of efficiencies…with back-of-the-house connections. It’s a really cool space to do some interesting concepts.

Above: Jacksonville International Airport put its expansion project on hold during Covid. Now it’s full steam ahead with a new concourse and new parking garage to keep up with demand.

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2025