Tampa International Airport Opens 3 New Concession Stands

April 13, 2016

Tampa International Airport on April 13, celebrated the grand opening of the three new concessions at Airside C as part of the Airport’s concessions redevelopment program. RumFish Grill, Time Zone | Shades and Starbucks are among the first wave of 65 new shops and restaurants coming to Tampa International Airport as part of the expansion.

“In a sense these three locations reflect major goals of the entire program. We’ve got local flavor with RumFish Grill, the familiar and always popular Starbucks, and Time Zone | Shades, a high-quality retail store,” Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano said. “These are wonderful dining, coffee and shopping options for our Southwest and Frontier Airlines passengers, and they’ve already been enjoying great sales in the short time they’ve been open.”

RumFish Grill, a casual dining restaurant featuring a 6-foot aquarium filled with native Florida fish, was opened by TPA Hospitality Partners. The restaurant is well known in St. Pete Beach and offers innovative and creative seafood dishes. The installation of the tank, which will be maintained by the St. Petersburg-based marine research organization Secrets of the Sea, was a project taken on by Acrylic Tank Manufacturers of the Animal Planet show Tanked, which will air at a later date.

“RumFish Grill is a first for air travelers providing mesmerizing aquarium entertainment while they enjoy a great meal,” said Kevin Kelly, president of Delaware North’s Travel Hospitality, which is a majority partner of TPA Hospitality Partners.  “Our focus is to provide ‘extreme hospitality,’ high quality and unique dining experiences at Tampa International Airport.”

Time Zone | Shades was opened by NewsLink of Tampa and offers popular recognizable sunglasses brands such as Ray Ban, Maui Jim and Costa, as well as a watch selection ranging from fashion brands such as Lacoste, Fossil and Diesel to more sophisticated, classic brands as Citizen and Swarovski.

“We are very excited to be opening the first of our nine locations at Tampa International Airport,” said Raymond J. Kayal, President and CEO of NewsLink Group.  “Time Zone | Shades will make a wonderful addition to the retail offering in Airside C. This is an incredible market for these concepts and we are excited to bring Time Zone | Shades to such an innovative airport as Tampa International.”

The new Starbucks, operated by HMSHost, features a one-of-a-kind coffee-bean-shaped design. HMSHost is also opening several more Starbucks locations throughout the Airport, including Starbucks Reserve and Starbucks Evenings.

“HMSHost is very excited to be celebrating the grand opening of Starbucks on Airside C in Tampa International Airport, as well as for the upcoming openings of exciting concepts such as P.F. Chang’s and Starbucks Evenings that will soon be available for Tampa travelers,” said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Michael Price. “We value our partnership with the airport and look forward to continuing to work together on delivering great food and beverage options and service to the traveling public.”

The three concessions are among roughly 30 expected to open this year at TPA, coinciding with the Airport’s historic expansion of its Main Terminal, a new rental car facility and a 1.4-mile automated people mover.

The new concessions redevelopment options include a wider variety of choices than ever before, including more local brands. Roughly 40 percent of the food and beverages options are local, featuring such staples as Columbia, Cigar City, Ducky’s, Buddy Brew and the Café by Mise en Place. Participation in the Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) also increased from three companies to 15, bringing more woman- and minority-owned business to TPA.