Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Recognized for Best Overall Airport Concessions Program
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL – Airport Revenue News (ARN), an industry leader in airport financial communications, has named Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) as having the Best Overall Concessions Program of any large U.S. airport.
Under ARN’s annual concession awards program, airports and airport concessionaires are nominated by their peers. ARN then announces the winners at its annual conference and exhibition.
The ARN award comes less than four months after MSP was recognized as having the Best Food and Beverage Program in North America by Airports Council International – North America, a trade association representing airports throughout the North American continent.
“The trick is to find the right mix of local and national brands, unique specialty retail stores, and passenger services to satisfy the tastes and needs of people from all over the world – all while giving travelers a sense of what Minnesota has to offer,” said Metropolitan Airports Commission Executive Director/CEO Jeff Hamiel. “We rely a lot on input and feedback from travelers and on awards like these to help confirm we’re on the right track.”
MSP has more than 100 shops and restaurants and has added a number of new options for travelers in the last few years. In Terminal 1-Lindbergh, concessionaire OTG introduced locally sourced and chef-driven restaurants such as Shoyu (Asian fare), Volante (Italian), Vero (pizza), Mimosa (French), MinniBar (world cuisine by Andrew Zimmern), Twin Burger (American), Mill City Tavern (American), World Bean (quick serve) and a gourmet food bar. Located on Concourse G, the OTG restaurants include 2,500 iPads on seating that extends into the gate-hold areas, enabling travelers to place their orders electronically while remaining within eyesight and hearing of the aircraft boarding process. Elsewhere in Terminal 1, some of the more recent restaurant additions include a Chick-fil-A (quick-serve) on Concourse C, McDonald’s (quick serve) on Concourse D, and a Farmers Market (quick-serve) on Bag Claim. New Terminal 1 retail shops include Uptown Minnesota (regionally designed, crafted and manufactured merchandise), Aveda (hair, skin and body care products) and Local Brew (Minnesota beer gear).
The Metropolitan Airports Commission has more than doubled the number of concessions at Terminal 2-Humphrey in recent years, adding Surdyk’s Flights (café and wine market), Cocina del Barrio (Latin/Mexican), Subway (quick serve) and Caribou Coffee (quick serve), as well as a news and gift store, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine News.
Free Wi-Fi was made available at both terminals.
ARN also honored two Minnesota-based retailers with a presence at MSP:
- The first airport-based Aveda store, operated by World Duty Free Group in MSP’s Terminal 1, tied for Best Airport Retail Store Design, Large Operator Division
- Uptown Minnesota, operated by St. Croix Promotions & Retail, Inc., won Best New Specialty Retail Concept, Small Operator Division.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is one of seven airports owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. A public corporation of the state of Minnesota, the MAC generates the revenue needed to operate its airports from rents and fees paid by airport users, not from the state’s general tax coffers. A recent economic impact study estimates that MSP generates more than $10 billion in annual economic activity in the metropolitan area and supports more than 76,000 jobs.