While the city plans a December groundbreaking for a new airport terminal, aviation officials said new food and beverage options will debut in about half of the San Antonio airport over the next two years.
The remaining spaces could go out for bid later this year after officials declined proposals submitted during a solicitation process that began over a year ago.
For the proposed new arrivals to the airport, the emphasis is on local flavors. So say goodbye to Vino Volo and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels & Cinnabon.
New concessions include a Chef Johnny Hernandez concept, called Horseshoe Tequila Bar, and another by Chef Jason Dady called Tre Pizzeria.
There’s also Pharm Table, Southerleigh, and Freight Fried Chicken, a concept by the local owner of the Caribbean concept Jerk Shack. Chef Johnny’s Mercado would open in the ground load facility now under construction.
“We really want to showcase San Antonio and the wealth of the food scene that we have in the city of San Antonio,” Director of Airports Jesus Saenz, said of the proposed new offerings in a briefing to City Council on Thursday.
The contract with a joint venture between airport concessionaire Maryland-based HMS Host and the locally-owned True Flavors to provide concessions will go before the council on Nov. 21 for final approval.
Host True Flavors beat out two other bids, SSP America of Virginia and AirStar of Dallas, to operate in about 12,000 square feet of space in both terminals of the San Antonio International Airport (SAT).
The concession package has a minimum annual guarantee of $2.4 million in annual revenue, money that will go toward ongoing and future airport improvement projects.
Some existing concessions, added in 2019, such as Smoke Shack, will remain. Also new to the airport is the national brand Panda Express and another Dunkin.
Online and digital ordering kiosks are also being incorporated in the concessions, Saenz said.
“The representation of the local chefs was phenomenal by Host, and it was a direct reflection of what we were looking for,” Saenz said.
Three of the new concessions also provide 10% equity ownership for local owners, according to the contract: Nicola Massey of Freight, Allison Balfour of Southerleigh and Crystal Dady of Tre Trattoria.
To make room in the terminals for new offerings, the list of concessions to be replaced includes Vino Volo, Auntie Anne’s, Famous Famiglia Pizzeria, Rosario’s, Mission City and Super Bien.
Plans for the remaining 13,000 square feet of concession space are up in the air as officials recommended releasing another request for proposals.
Two vendors had submitted proposals for that package which was a 10-year contract worth about $17.5 million. The evaluation committee gave the bid from Host a score of 95.33 and SSP America a score of 53.80.
But officials had already committed to not awarding both packages to one vendor.
“We want competition, because … the more we create that competition, the better it is for us, the consumers, and for the people that are operating out of the San Antonio International Airport,” Saenz said.
The SSP bid score was low enough that the evaluation committee chose not to award the contract and recommended a rebidding process. The release for solicitation will go out in January and the winning bid is expected to go before council in July 2025.
Airport officials also selected a firm to manage seven retail offerings in about 8,200 square feet of space at the airport.
A proposal by Atlanta-based Paradies Lagardère scored highest among the three bids that were evaluated.
Under that contract, the new retail concepts would include Prickly Pear Provisions, 210 Exchange and Univision in Terminal A, and Military City USA, iStore Express and local favorite Feliz Modern in Terminal B. In the ground load facility, Confluence Market is proposed.
Those concepts would replace Texas Monthly, SA Express-News, InMotion, Stars of San Antonio and Pronto Express.
Paradies Lagardère partners with San Antonio-based Bold Bites owner Cariño Cortez who operates several airport concessions including Merit Coffee, Smoke Shack, Boss Bagels, Whataburger and the Spurs Store.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and all council members supported the proposal, but two council members told the city’s aviation staff not to expedite the rebid process, but to slow it down.
“We are not going to do that,” said District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran. “That is not getting it right. That is not having the quality airport that my expectations are.”
District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte echoed that sentiment. “Whatever process we take, I want to be fair,” he said. “I want it to follow best practices and so if that means that we go out for another RFP, I don’t know that it makes sense for it to be a hasty one.”
The solicitation is ready to go out, Saenz said, and while it will include the same spaces, there will be some slight changes to the language.
In the last round of concession contracts awarded at the airport in 2019, tempers flared over Paradies Lagardère’s proposed lineup of shops and restaurants that included Chick-fil-A, citing the company’s history of anti-LGBTQ+ actions and its closure on Sundays.
Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation to determine whether the decision violated freedom of religion protections, and the Federal Aviation Administration also investigated a discrimination complaint. The City eventually offered the Atlanta-based fast-food business a lease at the airport, but Chick-fil-A never acted on it.
“I’m excited to see how travelers will respond to these things,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “I think it’s going to be great, and it also sets the stage for more to come as we build out the rest of this airport.”
Saenz said his team is making plans to break ground on the $1 billion planned new airport terminal in December while it remains awaiting a decision by the FAA on whether SAT finally will be awarded a slot at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
