Advertisement

Look at what restaurants Tampa International Airport might be getting

 
An artist's rendering of the exterior of the proposed RumFish Grill in Airside C. It would have an aquarium in the dining area, which would be a smaller version of the 35,000 gallon aquarium at the RumFish Grill at the TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach.  [Tampa International Airport]
An artist's rendering of the exterior of the proposed RumFish Grill in Airside C. It would have an aquarium in the dining area, which would be a smaller version of the 35,000 gallon aquarium at the RumFish Grill at the TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach. [Tampa International Airport]
Published Feb. 28, 2015

TAMPA

If the bay area's most refined palates held a fantasy foodie draft while locked in the wine cellar at Bern's Steak House, they might dream up something like this:

Mise en Place's Maryann Ferenc and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik leading a foodie's row of Bern's, Four Green Fields, Holy Hog BBQ, Kahwa Coffee, Mazarro Italian Market and Rumfish Grill.

Or triple-threat restaurateur Richard Gonzmart (Columbia Restaurant, Goody Goody and Ulele) and Ducky's owner/Tampa Bay Rays star Evan Longoria anchoring a lineup of Bella's Italian Cafe, Buddy Brew Coffee and Datz.

This is no wine-soaked fantasy. This could be Tampa International Airport's delicious future.

The airport is revamping its concessions, setting off an intense competition to land a coveted spot there in 2017. The shortlist of bids come out next month.

In the meantime, sprinkled inside thousands of pages of proposals, are tantalizingly delectable possibilities for Tampa Bay to one day eat, drink and be merry.

Let's just say it's a good thing Spanx also wants to open a shop at the airport.

• • •

TIA is undergoing a $943 million transformation. The airport will spend $122.5 million of that gutting and renovating the third-floor terminal.

That has given the airport the chance to tear up its concessions and put everything up for bids.

In recent years, TIA brought in local brands like the Columbia Restaurant Cafe and Cigar City Brewing. That trend has accelerated across the nation as airports see themselves as the gateway to regional flavors.

TIA told the big concessionaire companies that if they want to do business there, they need to bring the flavors of Tampa Bay to the airport.

That's just what the bidders have proposed.

• • •

Gone are old airport standbys Burger King, Carrabba's, TGI Friday's and Quiznos.

Vying for spots at the airport are local favorites like Hyde Park's French-inspired Piquant and Palma Ceia indulger Datz and homegrown chains like Lee Roy Selmon's and Square 1 Burgers and Bar.

Conventional fast food options like Chick-fil-A, Popeye's and Panda Express were also proposed. But fast food is taking a backseat to fast casual concepts like BurgerFi, PDQ and Wow! That's Fresh (all local brands.)

National chains made proposals, like Bar Louie, Chili's, Pei Wei Asian Diner and P.F. Chang's.

The biggest competition may be to see who will keep passengers caffeinated: Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks will face off with locals Bay Coffee & Tea Co., Buddy Brew Coffee, Kawha and TeBella Tea Company.

There was also news tucked away inside the proposals: Karyn and Kevin Kruszewski plan to expand their South Tampa bakery/eatery Pane Rustica by offering food-to-go at Airside E.

Unfortunately, not every bid can win.

• • •

What would a new restaurant concept be without a celebrity chef?

Wolfgang Puck wants to be in Tampa. So do three Food Network chefs: Cat Cora and Michael Symon of Iron Chef America and Robert Irvine of Dinner: Impossible.

Some bidders may turn the airport into a culinary experience. Irvine, for example, might hold cooking classes at Fresh, the proposed open market — also known as a "marché — for Airside F.

But it's expensive to do business at the airport. TIA's process was designed to get big concessionaires to team with smaller brands. Irvine's 7,681-square foot marché that seats up to 200 people could cost $3.5 million to build. That's $462 per square foot. A small business could never afford that start-up cost.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which oversees the airport, will pick the winning bids in June.

• • •

The most intriguing ownership group may be the one uniting two of the biggest names in Tampa Bay: Ferenc, the CEO of Mise en Place, and Vinik, the Lightning owner.

They've joined forces through a company called TPA Hospitality Partners LLC. The majority partner is concessionaire Delaware North, which owns 51 percent. Ferenc, Vinik and their local partners own the rest.

"We were all on the same page," Ferenc said. They asked themselves: "How could we tell the story of Tampa?"

Ferenc opened the First Flight Wine Bar at the airport in 2012. Now she wants to bring her South Tampa restaurant Mise en Place there: She proposed Cafe by Mise En Place and two new upscale bars, the Tiki-like Latitude Wine Bar and cocktail lounge Longitude.

Vinik is planning a $1 billion redevelopment of his downtown properties that will create plenty of space for new bars and restaurants along the waterfront.

Could Ferenc be a part of that effort, too?

"I take it one piece at a time," she said, "and I'm totally immersed in what I'm doing right now."

Contact Jamal Thalji at thalji@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3404. Follow @jthalji.