Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will drop 12 of its restaurants, bars, and coffee shops as part of ongoing renovations.
The Seattle Times reported that changes slated for SeaTac, including the notable shutter of the airport location of seafood chain Anthony’s, which will close at the end of March.
Also departing the airport are Burger King, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Great American Bagel Bakery, Sbarro, Seattle Seahawks 12 Club, Seattle Taproom, Sports Page Pub, one Starbucks location, Vino Volo, Vintage Washington Wine Bar, and Wolfgang Puck Express, as well as a number of retail stores.
The Port of Seattle, which manages the airport, is in the well-publicized process of redeveloping the dining and retail options at the airport. It’s prioritizing smaller-scale, less chainy options, such as ice creamery Salt & Straw, vegetarian restaurant from the people behind Cafe Flora, a spin off of Li’l Woody’s, Skillet, and Sunset Fried Chicken Sandwiches, to name a few.
The number of restaurants and stores at the airport is set to increase, but some newcomers will take over existing spaces. That’s where the closures come in: the Port of Seattle did not grant new leases to any of the above closures, in what was reportedly a rather competitive process. (These aren’t the first casualties: in 2017, it was announced that seafood chain Ivar’s would lose its lease, although it was ultimately granted a smaller kiosk space.)
There’s somewhat of a common thread between the outgoing restaurants — it’s a pretty corporate list, between mega-chains like Burger King and Starbucks, airport-only entities like Wolfgang Puck and wine bar Vino Volo (found all over North America), although some non-chain operations are out, like Seattle Taproom. Most of them are run by HMS Host, a concessions company that handles food and beverage services in numerous American airports.
The Times notes that due to the Port’s hiring policies, employees of the outgoing businesses will likely be able to find job with newcomers, although this isn’t totally guaranteed.
SeaTac’s renovations are set to be complete in 2021, with new dining options opening on a staggered basis between now and then.
- Anthony’s at Sea-Tac is one of 14 businesses to close this spring as airport updates concessions [Seattle Times]
- Salt and Straw Headlines a Slew of Exciting Additions Coming to Sea-Tac Airport [ESEA]
- Sea-Tac Scores Sunset Fried Chicken and Skillet [ESEA]
- Cafe Flora’s Spinoff Lands at Sea-Tac Airport in September [ESEA]