Travelers flying through Tampa International Airport (TPA) will soon have more options when it comes to dining, shopping and more while traversing the terminals. The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board awarded 11 new concessions contracts in June—the first time any such contracts have been given since the airport’s 1971 opening—that will bring 65 new brands to the airport’s F&B and retail spaces.
The new vendors include national and local businesses, including some innovative concepts. New signage customers can expect to see include:
-Hard Rock Cafe (the first in a North American airport)
-Tampa-based Cigar City Brewing
-Starbucks Evenings (which sells beer, wine and flatbreads in addition to coffee and tea)
-Swarovski
-Tech on the Go
-Ron Jon Surf Shop
The goal is to transform the way passengers eat, drink and shop by offering more variety and spurring competition among vendors. “I have no doubt that the final results will be amazing and that all who visit Tampa International Airport from around the world will agree,” says Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano.
Best of all, most of the new vendors will be placed after security—no more having to slam down that Starbucks coffee when you’re next in line for the body scanner (though Starbucks Evenings, Hard Rock Cafe and others will be in the main terminal).
The first of the new brands, including P.F. Chang’s, Hard Rock Cafe and Bay Coffee & Tea Company will start popping up in spring 2016, with all expected to be in place by late 2017.
