Airport eateries now offer a taste of Tampa

May 31--TAMPA -- Tampa International Airport is adding local flavor from hometown dining and beverage favorites to heighten airport patrons' impressions of the Tampa area.

Airport visitors also can find souvenirs from Busch Gardens and the Lowry Park Zoo at a new shop called Under the Silver Moon, while the Mindworks children's store sells tickets to Winter Haven's Legoland along with Lego products. New food and drinking options include Mise en Place, Columbia Restaurant, Green Iguana and Cigar City Brewing.

Bhavesh Patel, director of airport concessions, has added about 20 food and retail outlets to the airport and airside terminals since the start of the year.

Airport chief executive Joe Lopano recruited Patel from California in August to fill the newly created position. Patel responded with projects that will add up to an estimated $12 million in airport gross sales and $1.5 million in airport revenue this year.

"It requires a balance between food and retail outlets in the space we have available and a balance between national brands that appeal to many travelers and local brands that add character," Patel said.

The airport added a wine bar called First Flight in the middle of the main terminal that's designed along the European pattern of providing a quick "in and out" drink and appetizer for patrons standing at the bar.

"We want to show what the Tampa area offers," said Maryann Ferenc, proprietor of the Mise en Place restaurant who opened First Flight. "I've been looking forward to doing this for a long time."

The Columbia Restaurant Cafe at Airside E brings a touch of the landmark Ybor City restaurant. The airport version can accommodate 94 patrons at tables and includes a 12-seat re-creation of the original, 107-year old Ybor City bar.

Among the new Airside C outlets are Cigar City Brewing, with beer from what's said to be the only U.S. airport brewery, and Shula's Bar & Grill and Shula Burger.

The restaurant's namesake, National Football League Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula, visited his brand's newest outlet Wednesday.

Shula, who is of Hungarian descent and speaks the language, answered a whimsical question about why his classy steak houses, including one he opened in Tampa in 1994, do not offer a Hungarian dish.

"We did serve a soup like goulash made with steak at our Indianapolis restaurant that UCLA basketball coach John Wooden (a Hoosier state native) always visited," Shula said. "But too many people were ordering just the soup, and not dinner, so we gave it up."

Copyright 2012 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.