CHICAGO, June 6, 2013 - O'Hare International Airport Terminal 5 now offers an expanded array of delicious dining and shopping options featuring local flavor and "Made in Chicago" products for international travelers.
Sit-down restaurants Big Bowl and Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless; and Vosges Haut Chocolat boutique are the newest locations to open as part of an ongoing concessions redevelopment program at Terminal 5 by Westfield.
Big Bowl is the first airport restaurant for Chicago's Lettuce Entertain You Enterprise. Vosges Haut Chocolat is a locally-based, woman-owned company that began its business in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. The opening of Tortas Frontera in April was the first new restaurant to open at O'Hare's International Terminal in 20 years.
"With the recent openings of Big Bowl, Tortas Frontera and Vosges Haut-Chocolat, international travelers will get a taste of Chicago's finest establishments," said Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA). "It's vital that Chicago-based businesses can provide travelers with top quality cuisine while creating jobs and helping the local economy."
All three locations are now open past security at Terminal 5.
Big Bowl is a fresh Chinese and Thai concept that features potstickers, noodle and stir fry dishes, salads, cocktails with fresh-squeezed juices, and more. Big Bowl sources ingredients for its dishes from local farms and is also the first restaurant at O'Hare to carry local spirits, with a bar menu featuring FEW Spirits (Evanston, IL).
Vosges Haut-Chocalat offers intriguing chocolate creations using the finest ingredients from around the world. Experience tastes unlike any other with chocolate bars such as the Oaxaca, with guajillo and pasilla chillies, and Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate; exotic truffle collections; caramels; baking mixes; and more.
Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless features the amazing flavors of Mexico with a diverse menu featuring hand-crafted tortas (griddle-baked sandwiches), cazuelas (slow-simmered casseroles), fresh-made guacamole and hand-shaken premium margaritas. The restaurant uses locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible and displays a full list of its sustainable purveyors and farmers next to its menu.
Other recent openings in O'Hare Terminal 5 include shops from iconic Swiss watchmaker Swatch, Hudson News and Dufry - all located post-security to enhance the traveler experience.
With Westfield's redevelopment of the Terminal 5 concessions program well underway, travelers have already experienced significant upgrades to the news and gift, duty-free and food and beverage operations.
Previously, 95 percent of the terminal's dining and retail options were located pre-security, making it difficult for passengers to access dining and shopping while waiting for flights. The redeveloped terminal will offer a re-engineered layout, including a new TSA checkpoint and a European-style pass-through duty-free shop, to enhance the traveler experience.
