TAMPA — The rankings of the top dining, drinking and shopping options vying for space at Tampa International Airport are in and waiting for a final vote.
That will be the job of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, whose members oversee the airport. The board will vote in June to decide what the new concessions lineup will look like when the airport's $943 million construction project is finished around 2017.
Earlier this month, airport selection committees ranked the proposals made by the concessionaires and local retailers and restaurateurs looking to set up shop in one of the most coveted retail locations in the Tampa Bay area.
Airport CEO Joe Lopano has yet to weigh in on those recommendations. The airport CEO rarely deviates from airport staff's recommendations, however.
Earlier Tuesday, airport officials said that Lopano had already endorsed the top-ranked concessions choices and forwarded them to the board for final consideration. But officials later said that information was incorrect.
The airport designed the process to encourage national concessionaires to team up with locals to pitch a varied lineup of local and national brands.
To ensure variety — and to prevent national chains from grabbing all the spots from local brands — no one was allowed to bid on just one location, and no concessionaire was allowed to bid on all the packages.
The airport staff's recommendations will likely carry great weight with the Aviation Authority. But board members are not bound by them.
Some notable concepts that received top rankings include the Hard Rock Cafe's first restaurant in a North American airport and Tampa Bay's first Starbucks Evening, a high-end version of the ubiquitous coffee chain that also serves alcohol.
Also earning top rankings were airport versions of local favorites like the Columbia Restaurant, Cigar City Brewing, Mise En Place, Ulele and Yogurtology.
Some of the top retail names ranked No. 1 include Spanx and the Body Shop in Airside C, Victoria's Secret in Airside E and Shop HSN in the main terminal.