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Local eateries a quick favorite for BWI Airport travelers Few names are more synonymous with food in the Baltimore region than Phillips and Obrycki's. And while Phillips has had a presence at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport's A/B Concourse since it opened in May, Obrycki's is just jumping into the airport eatery scene. "We feel our name and our reputation will bring people to our place," said co-owner Cheri Cernak, whose family has owned Obrycki's in Fells Point since 1976. At Obrycki's, time-crunched passengers can dine on crab meat quiche for breakfast, order crab cakes-to-go for dinner or just relax and sip a Crabby Mary, Obrycki's version of a Bloody Mary appropriately garnished with a crab cocktail claw. The placement of iconic restaurants like Obrycki's and Phillips at BWI is no accident. Airports around the nation have increased the presence of popular, locally owned establishments in their terminals. It's a movement aimed to meet the demands of passengers who wants more food and beverage choices, aviation experts said. It's also a trend changing the face of airports, which once viewed passengers as a captured audience and, therefore, offered generic and largely unappetizing food selections. "You can still find the rotisserie hot dogs, but you're finding more choices," said George Hamlin, a private aviation consultant in Northern Virginia. "It's the kind of thing that makes people more comfortable." In addition to building national brand name eateries and stores, BAA Maryland, developer and manager of the airport's retail program, is adding restaurants with local roots throughout the airport. Phillips Famous Seafood opened at the Southwest A/B Concourse in May and Bill Bateman's Bistro, a local establishment known for its chicken wings, opened in August at the main terminal. Other airports across the country are ramping up the presence of local businesses too: Lucky's, a retro-lounge and restaurant popular among young professionals in South Boston, set up at Logan International Airport in March 2005. Nuts on Clark, a favorite speciality snack store among Chicago Cubs fans, opened a retail outlet at Chicago Midway Airport in June. Harry's Tap Room, a popular Arlington, Va. restaurant, is slated to open at Washington Dulles International Airport this month. Stephen Freibrun, managing director for The Center for Airport Management, an aviation consulting firm, said local establishments in terminals add a hometown flair to airports while providing a unique experience for tourists and business travelers. "People want to be adventurous and take advantage of what's not available at home," he said. Retail programs with well-known restaurants help boost revenues for an airport, he said. BWI has seen higher profits, thanks to local restaurants such as Phillips, said Mark Knight, president of BAA Maryland. The average sales per departing passenger currently stands at $6.30, a rise from $5.50 in 2004, he said. Tourists aren't the only ones who partake in local fare at airports, he said. BWI passengers from Maryland often gravitate to locally owned restaurants because they have come to expect a certain food quality and service, he said. "These well-run brands will generate more revenues to the airports than sort of general, off-brand concepts," Mr. Knight said. Southwest passenger Ed Swanson is among those trying the hometown fare. On a recent Wednesday, he sat down for the first time at Phillips and ordered a sampler platter, complete with shrimp and crab cakes. As a business traveler who passes through the A/B Concourse weekly, he'd heard about the restaurant's claim to fame, and wanted to test it out. "That's why I came here," he said. "I knew it was a local crab house." Having a familiar restaurant at the airport is also important to Baltimorean Andre Ziglar. "I know the quality of the food, and I can enjoy my lunch before I go on a flight," said Mr. Ziglar, who ordered a sampler platter at Phillips before catching his flight to Albany, N.Y. And he was pleasantly surprised to hear that Obrycki's was slated to open at BWI this summer. "That's pretty nice," said Mr. Ziglar. "They're bringing Baltimore to the airport." Stephen Freibrun is managing director of The Center for Airport Management (CAM), a division of Simat, Helliesen and Eichner (SH&E). CAM has helped almost 50 airport clients in the past 12 years to improve non-airline revenues while enhancing customer satisfaction. Founded in 1963,SH&E is the biggest consulting firm dedicated exclusively to commercial aviation, with offices in New York, London, Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago.
Contact: © 1997-2007, SH&E, an ICF International Company
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