Familiar retailers expected to open wallets at TIA
Most of the new shops and restaurants will be well-known brands likely to draw crowds.
By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
Published December 14, 2007
The preview of a new dining and shopping lineup at Tampa International Airport glittered with nationally known names like Tommy Bahama, Fossil and Carrabba's.
But for Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio's taste, the menu lacked local flavor.
"I think we're making a big mistake having all the retail be 'Anywhere U.S.A.,' " she told fellow members of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board Thursday.
When an executive from concessions contractor HMS Host suggested the Ron Jon Surf Shop fit the bill, Iorio cut in. "You want people to step into a shop and say this city I'm about to visit has a personality to it."
There will be a shop selling gifts that reflect Tampa's heritage when the extreme makeover is complete in December 2008, pledged Louis Miller, the airport's executive director.
Still, trendy names will dominate the new roster. No fewer than a dozen new brands will debut - six retailers and six in food and beverage sales.
The biggest change will take place in the main terminal. Among the new offerings for shoppers will be a Harley-Davidson-branded merchandise store, a Tommy Bahama/Vera Bradley luggage and handbag shop, and Fossil, the apparel and accessories brand.
Famished fliers will find new selections such as Baja Fresh (a Mexican grill), French bakery cafe Brioche Doree and the first Carrabba's Italian Grill in an airport.
Miller and HMS Host, which runs or subcontracts all the airport concessions, expect the new additions will pay off quickly. Food and beverage revenue will jump 30 percent to almost $70-million annually by 2010, they say. Retail sales are expected to hit nearly $39-million in three years, up 38 percent from 2007. The airport's overall share should grow 25 percent to $19.2-million.
Brands will drive much of the growth, Miller says. Sales at the Wharf Grill & Brewhouse in September were less than a quarter of T.G.I. Friday's a few steps away in the main terminal. It will be replaced by Carrabba's. "You've got to give customers what they want," Miller says. "There's nothing wrong with the Wharf, but people don't know what it is."
The new lineup should bolster main terminal concessions sales. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many passengers pass by shops and restaurants located before they reach security screening checkpoints.
But travelers also get to the airport earlier, giving them more time to shop or grab a bite. That's why HMS Host wanted the makeover to bring in more casual-dining choices, like the Sam Snead's Tavern slated for Airside A, instead of fast food, said Kevin Erickson, a vice president of business development. The project also includes expansions of Chili's and the Tampa Bay Home Team sports bar and grill, which are packed during peak times, he said.
The $13.8-million retail and restaurant remodeling, paid by HMS Host, is tied to a five-year extension of its concessions contract through 2015, which the aviation authority board approved Thursday.