Popular Global and Local Businesses Part of Latest Group of New Concessions Coming to Sea-Tac Airport

Editors note: Lease group 3 scores and award basis letters for all packages were published on June 13, 2017 and may be viewed here.

SEATTLE – The Port of Seattle is announcing new dining and retail concepts that were selected in a competitive bidding process for locations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new concessions will reflect global tastes while featuring several popular favorites including: bahn mi, burgers, a cocktail bar, ice cream, fresh juice, sushi and salads. The locations will be open to serve the traveling public in the coming years.

The Port is in the middle of a long-term dining and retail redevelopment program in which leases for the majority of the units are expiring over several years, some of which have already been re-leased. More opportunities for interested firms will still be available in the future, including approximately 20 units in the next lease group to be proposed for competitive bid starting this summer. Currently, passengers have 86 dining and retail choices at the airport. That number is expected to grow to more than 135 dining and retail choices upon completion of the redevelopment effort.



“There was more competition and there were more local concepts submitted for these leases than we’ve ever received before,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Tom Albro. “We’re particularly pleased that so many local minority and small businesses see the benefit of opportunities at Sea-Tac Airport, will create new jobs, and help us share a Pacific Northwest sense of place with our passengers. Remember to check in early and bring your appetite.”

Winning bidders were selected through a rigorous, thorough fair evaluation process with seven rating criteria including background/experience, concept, unit design, financial/rent proposal, management/staffing and operations, job quality/workforce development, and small business participation. The process included observation from external stakeholders and benefitted from lessons learned from previous leasing efforts.

The list of winning bids includes exciting current local businesses as well as new local concepts developed specifically for the airport. The list below highlights specific stores, their concepts and the operating organization.

1. Marche Food Hall – to be located in the large area at the elbow of Concourse A between gates A6 and A5, featuring popular and local concepts, operated by SSP America.

   • Jujubeet – ‘Artisan juices for the heart and mind’ with locations in Bellevue and Seattle;

   • Macrina Bakery – ‘Hand formed, freshly baked’ bakery goods with locations in Kent and Seattle;

   • Salt & Straw – An iconic fresh-made ice creamery based in Portland, serving pints of delicious ice cream creations.

   • True Burger Co. – Using locally and regionally sourced ingredients;

   • Slate Coffee Roasters – A three-year old specialty coffee roasting and retail company with four locations in Seattle (with a second location in the South Satellite Food Court);

   • Tap & Pour – Serving cool local amber ales and drafts.

2. Evergreens – Providing healthy convenient meals in U-Village and five downtown Seattle location, operated by The Yarrow Group;

3. Poppa Woody’s – A partnership between Sub Pop Records and Li’l Woody’s, Seattle’s Best Burgers with four locations in Seattle and Ballard, operated by SP-LW, LLC. And this was one of the editor suggestions to add in last year’s Sea-Tac Airport feature with Seattle Met Magazine!

4. Lucky Louie Alaska Seafood Shack by Kathy Casey – Operated by 1915 Kchouse Concepts, LLC, a local woman operated company by Stacy House and Kathy Casey. Featuring Northwest inspired quick serve seafood;

5. Asian Box – With roots in San Francisco, delivering customizable Asian favorites on noodles or rice, operated by SSP America;

6. Ballard Beer Hall – Designed to reflect Seattle’s exceptional craft beer scene, SSP America;

7. Banh Shop – Delivering fresh flavors of Southeast Asia, operated by SSP America;

8. Caffe Ladro – Based in Seattle since 1994 serving ‘best in town’ coffee with sustainable roots and pastries from the Ladro bakery, operated by SSP America;

9. Good Bar – Specializing in food that is ‘straightforward and delicious, always made from quality ingredients, located in Pioneer Square, operated by SSP America;

10. Koishi Sushi & Bento – Chef-inspired, made to order Japanese cuisine, operated by SSP America;

11. La Place – Serving sustainably sourced products produced locally in the Pacific Northwest, operated by SSP America;

12. Le Grand Comptoior – Featuring an array of wines from Washington vineyards and regionally-inspired menu, operated by SSP America;

13. Pallino – Local fast-casual Italian-American favorites, operated by Pallino SeaTac, LLC;

14. Pei Wei Asian Diner – Delivering handcrafted, pan-Asian dishes made to order by the founders of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, operated by SSP America;

15. Seattle Made – Featuring high quality products designed and manufactured in Seattle by more than 350 member makers, operated by Pacific Gateway Concessions LLC;

16. Standard Bakery and Broadcast Coffee Roasters – Offering a quintessential taste of the Pacific Northwest, operated by Pacific Gateway Concessions LLC;

17. Starbucks Urban Market (two locations on Concourse D and bag claim) – Complementing the offering of Starbucks with news, sundries, travel necessities and more, operated by Host International;

18. Stone House Café – Offering home-style cooking with a location on Rainier Avenue, operated by BF Foods, LLC;

19. Swarovski – A world-leading producer of fashion jewelry, operated by Pacific Gateway Concessions LLC;

20. The Habit Burger Grill – Best known for the Charburger, with three locations in the Seattle area, operated by SSP America;

21. The News Stand – Bringing a modern era travel and newsstand, operated by Pacific Gateway Concessions LLC;

22. Village Pub & Grill – A modern twist on a traditional English Pub, operated by Airport Concessions, LLC

In addition to the traveling public, Sea-Tac Airport’s dining and retail program benefits businesses, individual workers and local cities. Combined, annual revenue from Sea-Tac concessionaires is about $275 million. Full-time employment in airport dining and retail is up 21 percent since the beginning of redevelopment in 2014. In addition to parking and other taxes, the City of SeaTac collects retail gross sales tax from Sea-Tac’s dining and retail program, benefitting local residents.

The Port of Seattle has set ambitious goals for engagement with small, local and minority businesses. We significantly increased outreach, networking and training programs for potential applicants and provided feedback to businesses that were unsuccessful in their prior bids.

In the past few years, community input has helped the Sea-Tac Airport create more lease opportunities for small business participation. By thinking outside the box on leases and build outs, the Port now offers shorter leases on introductory kiosks to small businesses that are not ready for the capital investment of building out their own space, as well as intermediate kiosks for small businesses that want a customized space without the investment of an entire store. These successful programs create more access points to the airport.

More Details on Sea-Tac Airport’s Dining and Retail Program

Sea-Tac’s award-winning Airport Dining & Retail program focuses on providing the traveling public with shops, restaurants and services that exceed their expectations for customer service, quality, variety, affordability and that reflect a Pacific Northwest sense of place. The program includes popular national brands as well as local favorites to meet a variety of needs and tastes.

The redevelopment of the Airport Dining and Retail (ADR) Program offers an excellent opportunity to advance the Port’s Century Agenda goals by enhancing the Airport’s profile as the preferred gateway to the Pacific Northwest, by promoting job growth, by creating new opportunities for small, local and disadvantaged businesses, and by meeting the expectations of the travelling public for quality food service, retail products, and personal services.

Interested firms can register at our website to be notified about new leasing opportunities as well as training programs about participation in the ADR program at Sea-Tac Airport.

About Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Operated by the Port of Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA, KSEA) is ranked as the 9th busiest U.S. airport, serving nearly 45.7 million passengers and more than 366,000 metric tons of air cargo in 2016. With a regional economic impact of more than $16.3 billion in business revenue, Sea-Tac generates 171,796 jobs (109,924 direct jobs) representing over $2.8 billion in direct earnings and more than $565 million in state and local taxes. Thirty airlines serve 88 non-stop domestic and 23 international destinations.