Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is in the midst of a highly competitive contracting process for new restaurants across its terminals and concourses, so we thought we’d ask readers what restaurants they’d like to see at the Atlanta airport.
Our readers who responded to the survey had plenty of ideas. Among the requests were Flying Biscuit, Tim Hortons, Slutty Vegan, more Starbucks, MetroFresh and Jimmy John’s.
We reached out to a few of the restaurant chains to ask for their thoughts on the requests from readers, and got some interesting responses.
Atlanta-based Flying Biscuit Cafe, a local breakfast favorite, responded with a statement saying it “would love the opportunity to be a part of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.”
“The Atlanta airport is filled with so many longtime, local favorite restaurants. We feel we could be a great addition,” the company said. “Our menu has a lot to offer and would be perfect for an airport setting. Who wouldn’t want a Flying Biscuit with cranberry apple butter before their flight?”
Hartsfield-Jackson’s contracting process to find new restaurants for its concessions refresh will continue this year with multiple rounds of requests for proposals from companies. So the full slate of companies that throw their hats in the ring is yet to be seen, and the selection of the winners will determine what restaurants eventually open.
The lucrative contracts mean high stakes for the companies that compete. As a result, the City of Atlanta’s Law Department noted in its budget briefing that it expects legal challenges to the concessions contract awards — which can lengthen the process further.
Tim Hortons, the Canadian chain known for its coffee and Timbits donut holes, is expanding into Georgia and reportedly opening a location in Midtown Atlanta across from The Varsity.
The company’s director of business development for Tims US, Ryan Ferranti, issued a written statement on the suggestion that Tims join the fray.
“Tim Hortons would love the opportunity to operate in and serve guests within the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport,” Ferranti said. “We are in discussions for airport locations in several locations throughout the US and would strongly consider an opportunity at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.”
MetroFresh, a local business with two locations in Midtown Atlanta,was less enthusiastic. Executive chef and actor Mitchell Anderson, who runs the restaurants, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has “been invited several times over the years to participate in the airport bidding process with various groups.
“While it has always been very flattering to be asked, I have always passed on the opportunity. I am a hands-on owner operator,” Anderson said in an e-mail. “My joy comes from being on site most of the time, creating the food, interacting with the staff and customers, and creating a ‘home’ for the neighborhood.”
He noted that the airport poses “significant logistical challenges.” And he added that he thinks his differentiator “is that we are not corporate.”
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