Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) has welcomed the opening of a collection of restaurants and bars in collaboration with SSP Group. The majority of the new food and beverage concessions are located in a food court area in the terminal called the Central Market.
SSP has operated at MDW since 2017 and most of the new concessions are comprised of local brands. The food and beverage operator is a member of Midway Partnership, a joint venture that also includes Vantage Airport Group and Hudson, which was selected by the Chicago Department of Aviation 9CDA) to lead a $75 million transformation of Midway’s concession programme.
“SSP America and its local minority partners have been true partners in delivering our ambitious vision to transform the traveller experience at Chicago Midway,” said Sammy Patel, CEO, Midway Partnership. “Our successful collaboration with SSP is built around ensuring community benefit, showcasing Chicago and doing our utmost to collaborate with and support people and local businesses in the community.”
The newly opened restaurants include White Sox Bar & Grill, Connie’s Pizza, Big Bowl and Dunkin. In total SSP America’s joint venture partners, subtenants and hundreds of team members now operate more than 30 restaurants in total. The percentage of Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBE) involved with the project makes the operation an industry leading programme with total percentage of ACDBE participation at almost 60%.
“The transformation of MDW led by CDA and Midway Partnership is truly remarkable – from the improved infrastructure around the airport, TSA facilities and the redevelopment of the concessions programme, MDW is now a world-class airport which offers a tremendous experience for travellers,” said Senior Vice President of Business Development Bob Stanton.
“These openings represent the final phase of our development efforts. It’s truly a unique effort given the extraordinary level of ACDBE participation and representation from the local restaurant community. This collection of brands rounds out our MDW portfolio of restaurants and we’re grateful for the participation of all our restaurant partners including those we’ve been operating with for a number of years.”
