Airport Experience® News - Pre-Conference Issue 2025

LATEST BUZZ

Right: Bringing local flair to the airport, SSP America will operate regional brand Ike’s Love & Sandwiches and Fresno pub and brewery Mad Duck Craft Brewing Co., among other concepts.

of works by local artists through sculptures, mosaics, and gallery walls displayed throughout the terminal. “The local culture, people, and regional landmarks are captured in the art program and enrich the travel experience,” adds Hahle. New Offerings Travelers won’t just have the opportunity to feast their eyes on new art. There will be plenty of new concessions and retail concepts to enjoy in FAT’s new space, too, adds Thompson. Concessionaire Hudson will operate both a pre-security Einstein Bros. Bagels/Hudson hybrid store, a post security Brookstone/Hudson store as well as multiple post-security travel convenience stores. “These new stores will transform the retail experience at FAT, offering travelers enhanced options to make their journey more exciting, engaging, and rewarding,” says Jordi Martin-Consuegra, chief operating officer of Hudson parent company Avolta North America. He notes that Hudson’s newest stores will also feature self-checkout and mobile POS systems as well as exclusive benefits for Club Avolta loyalty program members. “Our hybrid stores will be the first of their kind at FAT and each will boast an assortment of travel and convenience necessities alongside a curated collection of souvenirs and products from local makers that celebrate Fresno, bringing a sense of place to the airport,” adds Martin-Consuegra. Thompson notes the terminal’s stores will include merchandise from Fresno State University and crafts from local artisans. SSP America will operate four of the new terminal’s concessions concepts, including an outpost of California-based Peet’s Coffee; regional brand Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, Fresno pub and brewery Mad Duck Craft

a position for this opportunity in the airport – and ultimately landed it with Los Amigos,” Thompson says. FATforward’s impact on the region won’t stop at its passenger offerings, either. Thompson and the team at FAT anticipate that the project will create more than 600 jobs throughout construction, as well as permanent full-time positions when the new space opens. “The new facility is going to provide us the ability to continue to grow our offerings here. It’s going to allow us to operate more efficiently than we are today in handling the volume of traffic that we have today and into the future,” says Thompson, citing the airport’s popular routes to and from Las Vegas, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Guadalajara, Mexico. Increasing FAT’s capacity and adding new routes will only continue to accelerate its current traffic trajectory. “Fresno is a strong market – our limitation has been our capacity,” Thompson says. Expanding FAT’s facilities “is definitely going to elevate our travel experience for customers – the ease of getting through the airport, more space and comfort, and definitely more offerings,” he continues. “We’re upgrading those offerings in a way that we haven’t seen here in 20 years, and bringing in all of those things that are really expected in the travel experience today.”

Brewing Co., and a new location of Fresno based Los Amigos Mexican eatery. “Our mission is to enhance the airport experience by providing authentic culinary encounters and bringing a true taste of place to every airport we serve,” says SSP America’s vice president of business development Nicholas Schaefer, adding that the concessionaire is “thrilled to collaborate with the airport team on this project.” Putting together FAT’s culinary landscape was “a very carefully crafted process,” says Thompson, citing the team’s philosophy in selecting the Los Amigos concept as an example of their dedication to bringing the spirit of Fresno to travelers. “We wanted to make sure that we had a local Mexican concept, but we didn’t want your typical Mexican concept — we wanted more authentic, more traditional Mexican fare that would be well-received by our international passengers in particular, but also by our overall community. “We partnered with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation who are very connected with the community – we literally went out and tested a bunch of concepts throughout the city to identify those that best met our needs, and then we narrowed that down to a small number to identify whether or not they were in

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AX NEWS FEBRUARY 2025