Why Airports are Full of “Fake” Restaurants
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Airport restaurants and bars drive up to 59% of non-aeronautical airport revenue. But many of those restaurants aren't what they seem. Have you ever noticed just how many generic restaurants fill terminals across the country? Think... New York Deli, Poppy's Bagels, Soho Bistro, and a bar called "Drink."
In this video, we explore the strange world of airport dining and the real reason you can find so many generic eateries in airports across the U.S. We uncover why these restaurants exist, who’s behind them, and why airports choose to work with them. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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During Jim Crow south, airport restaurants had to allow people of color to eat in the restaurants because airports are on federal, not state, property. I remember going to the airport restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi as a child for special occasions. It was exciting seeing the planes while having a fine dining experience.
Did restaurants under Jim Crow exclude anyone who wasn't white?
People who say "during jim crow south" have little to no experience doing their own research
You arent WRONG in this case... its just a shared trait i noticed
Did they exclude all non white people?
Cool
Maybe in Jackson but in the 50s the Fort Worth Airport, DFW was long in the future, had segregated restrooms so I doubt that the restaurant was integrated.
I’ve noticed that gradually, airports have come to resemble shopping malls. There seems to even be more non-food related retail stores.
Yea try flying into the airport in Miami looks pretty much like u describe it 😅
In Dublin it's the opposite
Dublin airport is a fraction of the size of the big and even medium sized US airport s and it is no-thrills@@teaganscott3928
DTW is basically a mall that happens to have planes.
The Philadelphia airport looks exactly like a mall 😮
I used to work at the airport at a coffee shop. Behind our coffee shop was a prep kitchen that made pre wrapped sandwiches for about 11 different “restaurants” the parent company owned. The ladies would just stick different stickers on each package, but it was all the same sandwiches
Were they different prices?
Today’s term for this outside of the airport is “ghost kitchen”
lol
I do like my airport PDX. One more important rule they have is that the businesses can't upcharge. They have to have the same prices inside the airport as they do outside of it.
They definitely charge more
That’s an amazing rule that should be federal law.
@@GregSidberry at least at pdx with that rule they can use their highest prices at any location which might not be the price your used to
TPA and PIT have the same rule.
@@GregSidberry Nope. Even the Columbia Sportswear booth in PDX has the same pricing and sale items as their main store in Portland.
What I've also seen helps these Fake restaurants in being managed by the same company is they can share kitchen space. You can have 2-3 facades that all share a back hallway so all back of house if operated as if it's a single location. The menus may also be more similar than not, just different drinks and decor. It's smart but honestly so lifeless feeling.
I truly hate seeing the HMS host plaque on the entrance to these places, knowing I'm going to get the same generic mediocre experience as the next place.
The illusion of choice lol
Another shortcoming of capitalism
Solution? Don't buy and they will go away. Personally I've been involved in the bidding for airport locations and it is political and corrupt.
As opposed to the Franchises who do they exact same thing
Yes you’re not going to find many Michelin star restaurants in the airport or a family owned restaurant. It’s an airport expect a purely consumerist experience
with the exception of Einstein Bros. and Starbucks, every single food option at Austin Bergstrom is a local spot originally. always thought that was pretty neat!
I recently flew out of Austin and the place I grabbed breakfast was no better, or worse, than any other airport meal I’ve had. They may be local but the experience (and price) was “forgettable and corporate”
When working in Singapore, it became apparent that the very well developed Changi airport was a local destination especially for Sunday family outings. Nice work here.
Lol, I work at HMShost in The Netherlands, it sometimes feels like we have a monopoly over the whole airport here. 😵💫
In CPH it appears to be WHsmith.
And both owned by blackrock😮 idk
@@skylineXpert Same here in Manila
Also at all Dutch train stations
@@jamesbergen4823 Blackrock owns much of the world.
HMS Host also operates “fake” restaurants along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, so I assume this business model also works on other toll highways for similar reasons.
There are airport-specific franchises as well. I forget the name of it but there's an Irish pub chain around the world that only exists in international airports.
A couple of years ago, there was a bookstore chain here in Brazil only found in airports called "Laselva", now it's defunct
O’rivals? Think we got one at sea tac
thank you for making a reasonably short video on youtube. this did not need to be 25 minutes long
I like long videos. Something to listen to while at work
@@bogusguhl2715podcasts are your friends
A single subject that's wrapped up in 7 minutes as opposed to stretched out and padded for another half hour. Don't mind long videos if there is enough content, but the right thing was done here.
Exactly. A lot of videos add filler of some sort, and all it does is bore me and waste my time.
This video should have had an 18 minute feature right in the middle with some sponsor that is clearly a scam to increase the run time.
$18 for a water and a bagel. These places are gouging customers.
You’re not forced to buy it. You can bring food into an airport. It’s poor planning that costs you money.
@ItBeThatWaySometimes you do know about connecting flights right?
@@bunnyluver2176 you do know about carryon luggage right? Pack a granola bar, pack a sandwich, pack a lunchable. Tf?
@@ItBeThatWaySometimesyou're forced to when there's no alternative. Its why they continue to do it.
I typically shy away from known franchise locations in airports because I want to support small local businesses, this will change my way of thinking.
Why would you ever think ANYTHING at an airport to be small and local? With the masses of daily people passing through there, small local businesses couldn’t hope to pay the upfront rent deposit (which is extremely high due to the expected profit).
I have done commercial kitchen equipment repair for 40+ years .... working at Houston airports have given me great insights to restaurants located therein. Dont. Bring your own munchies, eat before you fly, plan your meals after you get to your destination. Dont eat at airport concessions. You'll be lots better off.....
Fascinating, please go into more
Terminal E at Houston IAH I nicknamed "mouse central" after seeing the damage at "a major burger restaurant'" where mice had chewed wiring ...not thru it but down the entire length of the harness.... they went after the insulation (soy based plastic ? ) or another space where they only used the 2nd oven only during holiday travel times....after I opened it I discovered a nest with live mice babies. They actually asked me to remove them. Only after I told them I wasn't a licensed pest control, they dealt with removal &called me back to complete the repair.
It's like the bars and "night clubs" in hotel lobbies. Especially, ironically, in airport hotels.
They always had double entendre names blending the transient nature of travel and extra marital affairs, but they were usually operated by either contract food service or Marriott Host or the other hotel chain's food service arm. Scandals, Risque, Whispers, etc. Those night clubs were not part of some chain. They did it with their cafes and restaurants and breakfast bars, too.
Next thing you're going to tell me, the Mexican restaurant at epcot center was not founded by a hard working Mexican immigrant and the Chinese place in times square wasn't founded by a guy from beijing.
LOL.... A Marriott near me had a "Gambits" nightclub - lots of dudes who looked like car salesmen and cougarish women who prowled the dance floor. Fun times!
Haha amazing
Ironically, the San Angel Inn at EPCOT is actually operated by the actual San Angel Inn in Mexico
@@finalascent
Hotel bars/lounges were a “rules free” zone back in the 70s/80s. My family used to take a couple epic car trips a year from our home in TX to see my grandparents in South FL, stopping for the night once (sometimes twice) along the way at roadside Holiday Inn locations. Every HI seemed to have a smoky lounge with a terrible band and businessmen on the prowl. Unlike free-standing bars, the motel lounges had no age requirements as you could just walk in from the lobby. My elementary-aged brother and I would always give a wary look to the other traveling children
inhaling second-hand smoke while their parents pounded cocktails. Different times, for sure.
Some of them are "captive" chains. You will find (for Example) "Teddy's Night Club" in many IHC properties. (started out as the "Holiday Inn" club)
In some smaller towns it was a pretty popular place back in the 80s and 90s.
Fascinating business and great reporting. I never thought twice about the “hms host” on all my expense report receipts. I am gonna need a follow up of your best and worst menu items from franchises, generic, and local airport eateries 🙏🏼 🍻🌮
What’s always been interesting to me is that even the chains show that logo much of the time. I’ve noticed the Starbucks receipts are like that, so I always assumed it was some staffing firm or an electronic system lol.
Yeah, a lot of airports will bid out the concessions program to one company, like HMS Host or OTG or Concessions Intl. The administrative work that goes with operating in the airport is a lot steeper than outside. Really helps grouping under one umbrella. The hiring and onboarding process of new employees alone is much more involved with needing fingerprints, appointments for airport credentialing (which can be 2-3 visits including a training session), TSA requires the company to be accountable for its employees airport IDs so they have to do and keep audits, track keys, etc., deliveries of products sometimes are only allowed during certain hours and only certain people can accept them. The logistical and HR functions alone make it much more cost effective to pool resources.
@@flyoma that makes total sense from a business perspective! That’s exactly what I always thought HMS was as a company just by guessing/assuming. I just didn’t know this whole other half! The more you know!
Regarding the “thanksgiving at the airport” comment: some of the best diners in the country are at small municipal airports in neighborhoods around the country. If you live near one or more small airports, check if they have an “airport cafe” and head over. They’re not behind any security or other barriers, they’re just regular diners, at an airport.
This is actually true. Some have champagne Sunday
After getting my private pilots license, the next question is, what to do with it? We discovered the local diners at smaller airports and that became our thing. We made it a point to try them all and found some real gems!
And you can planespot while you enjoy your meal!
In Madison, WI we have the Jet Room.
Franchise like KFC or Mcdonald can't simply get profit from the airport since they can't simply just upselling big mac because everyone knows how much big mac prices are.
While "generic restaurant" can charge you any price, no wonder why simple sandwich in "new york deli" could cost $10 on airport while it usually cost $3 on your local deli.
Loved watching this. I used to love EWR Terminal C because of all the terminals, they went from generic to chain restaurant heaven. One of my biggest gripes with current day EWR Terminal C is that 90% of the franchises have left, and we're back with the generic restaurants and iPad restaurants that I find less enjoyable and more expensive. Now I make a point to eat before I get to the airport. This is why I actually look forward to flying out of airports like ATL and DFW, haha.
Thank you for answering a question I’ve always had but literally never thought to ask
Interesting. I've done a lot of flying in the last 25 years or so, into and out of a fair number of airports. I've noticed these "fake" restaurants in a number of them. But my "home" airport the last 5 years or so has been PDX. I recognized that it was different, and recognized some of the vendors as ones I knew from the area, but hadn't realized it was an intentional divergence from what other airports were doing. Go PDX! (also, if you happen to go through there, and like Vietnamese food, I recommend Bambuza. Not the best Vietnamese I've had, but among the best airport food I've had)
PDX was going through renovations last time I went through there. Even with all the construction, it's about as pleasant as it gets for airport user experience. Really excited to go through after the work is finished.
Hmm I wonder how monopolistic this gets from airport to airport. Like if I spun the wheel of American airports and landed on one randomly, would it be almost entirely OTG operated, or HMS, or another? After TSA is a whole microeconomy.
The one at DC Airport is called Paradies Lagardère.
this channel is going places! awesome video
HMS Host is either a division of or spun off from Marriott. They used to run the concession on the New York Thruway too until it changed contractors.
Wow you bring back memories from a time, when I was a commercial freight hauler! 🌟
You are one of the most refreshing and fun video hosts I’ve seen in a long time on TH-cam! Great video also!
Oh hey! HMS Host! I used to work for them. They're not exclusive to just airports but they're also on turnpike rest stops as well!(That's where I was at lol)
When I worked there we had a few generic businesses, a pizza joint , and a salad place, but now they don't have the generic ones anymore.
Awesome video bro, very high quality and interesting topic.
Man, I hate chain restaurants. What they’re doing at PDX sounds awesome.
This is a great video. I’ve followed OTG as a frequent EWR flyer and I appreciate the depth of the background. And it’s great that you kept this quality informative video under seven minutes. I don’t know why everyone is making 30 minute long TH-cam videos these days…
Maybe I'm misunderstanding but... what's "fake" about a local business supported by a larger company? Is it just that they're not a recognizable name?
My experience in the UK is chains are more common here. My local city airport (Manchester) is probably 70% chains (though some are smaller chains that are only in the North West). The rest are a couple of pubs and unique Restaurants.
For those not in the know, Delaware North is another huge airport concessionaire
I don’t even know what that means
@@M_SC It means the company that is contracted to run the restaurants. A food subcontractor may have their own proprietary brand names, or franchise national brands, or some of both.
Even the franchises are just fake. I worked at the airport, chilis is not chili's. Its even worse frozen food. The starbucks is just HMS host not real starbucks but they utilize the "standards".
Great video. I did not know any of this. Thanks for posting.
Really interesting history, always something I noticed but never put much thought in to. Great video!
Great video and very informative.thanks
Great work. I'm confident airlines own stake in some of these restaurants as well.
The subject matter alone is so interesting and unique (I’d never given any thought to the non-franchise restaurants in airports), and then you presented the info in a well-structured and engaging narrative. And, as another commenter noted, it’s at a perfect bite-sized length. Great work!
Nicely done! Very informative, interesting, and not too long. And the presenter did a great job. Easy to understand, and interesting tone.
Yeah, I remember, in the 90s, visiting the airport just to go to a restaurant and take in the scenery.
i dont remember that. Weird. Some people juat dont have a life like that...
If your purveyor is SYSCO, US Foods, etc - you own a fake restaurant without the logistical issues of being in an airport.
Why would the restaurant be considered fake, just because they use these distributors?
@006ahenry those distributors make the food pre-made in serving sized packages. Simply take the dish out, reheat, serve.
That's why applebees tastes meh everywhere.
@@006ahenry because they don’t actually operate like the conventional versions of the same chains. You see this on college campuses all the times: the prices are higher than nationally standardized menus, they have fewer options available, and their payment systems usually differ (you’ll also see this in your bank statements from them). You see the same thing in airports, even with certain national brands
@@pcblahAll those foodservice trucking companies also deliver real food if that’s what you need to order. Not everyone that orders from the big companies are ordering ready to eat foods.
@@ericclaptonsrobotpilot7276yes! For $30 they will deliver regular food that costs slightly more than the local wholesale club in the middle of lunch by someone (and it’s usually a new guy every week) who looks like they’ve never hauled boxes on a dolly before.
Never thought about it but a great video that introduced me to the concept. Nicely done!
0:44 Shake Shack is definitely not an airport-only restaurant
This was very interesting. PIT has a similar philosophy to PDX, I am the proud former owner of a local establishment that has a successful location at the airport. And we had the same rule, we were not allowed to charge more at the airport location than we did at the main restaurant in town.
Very interesting and great research. Thanks for the video.
Chicago's Midway (MDW) is a similar example to Portland. A company called NorthAmerican Concessions owns a lot of the food space in the airport and has made a point to put a handful of local Chicago businesses in those stalls. The airport has some larger franchises but overall has a more local feel, and I enjoy flying out of it a lot more than I do O'Hare - and not just because I'm always in and out in a fraction of the time.
Most restaurants in airports are local lol. even in his example only 4 where owned by OTG. He is confusing Generic with local. Generic it's because generic sells. Speciality has limited space in a place that has that much international traffic.
Midway has the worst food. They need to put McDonald's back
At some airports, even the franchises are ran by companies like HMS Host. One of the airports near me has a Chick-fil-A that's operated by HMS Host.
I've always been curious about this and never bothered to ask. Great video!
Thank you for this info. 💖 Very interesting.
This is a GREAT overview to an unexpectedly obvious yet interesting question 😃 And yeah, kinda curious about purposefully spending Thanksgiving at the airport now 😅 Thanks for getting the facts (and some tasty-looking food along the way 😋)!
I worked for hosts intl in San Jose. Another benefit is they could float employees from when restaurant to another
Yep, 90% of the restaurants, cafes and eateries in my local airport all have different names but are owned by the same people.
This was interesting! I used to work at an airport and was always disappointed they didn’t have local or popular chain restaurants. Now I know why-because of OTG and HMS. I didn't realize it was that expensive for a chain to open up in places like an airport. I can see why one of my bosses had to tell the airport to open up a Dunkin' Donuts near our break room!
The Austin Texas airport features local brands, but they're franchises owned and operated by Delaware North (or whomever does the restaurants there these days.)
Also, it's not that it's expensive for the chain to open up in the airport, it's that it's expensive for the concession company to acquire the franchise to open a branded restaurant in the airport. Hence why you have un-branded restaurants sometimes.
@@JaredJanhsen O’Hare has some local ones but most of it are restaurants I never heard of
Very informative vid; thanks.
great video. thank you!
Excellent video! Thank you! 👏
Great succinct video, man! 🙌🏻
You know I have never thought about this because I'm always distracted by the fact that I'm going somewhere but as soon as I read the title of this video I instantly understood what you meant. Because I have always briefly thought to myself who are what are these weird restaurants I've never heard of.
Excellent video!
This makes sense but I had no idea. Thanks! Salt Lake City airport has mostly local brands, similar to PDX which is nice.
I just flew through PDX, it was actually a really beautiful airport tbh
Yep! I worked at a local chain in the SLC airport until a few months ago.
The entire "flying" thing is such a "racket" ...can't bring this , can't take that...wait in long lines. Pay up the wazuboley...no thanks, I'll drive
Cool channel, just found it. Bro, awesome job, cool topic, new subscriber here!
Really interesting stuff and frankly some great information on high level business practices that could help out potential invenstors.
Really interesting stuff!
Great video! I know that my local airport, SFO is full of real local restaurants that have second/third locations! It seems to be a policy by the airport for this
I went to an airport that had a pub named after a local beer district, which had no beers from the breweries in that area
There's a small airport in Southern California, KCRQ, that we go to for dinner all the time. There's a restaurant there called The Landings
At 6:15, another great example of an airport brimming with local eateries is MSP. Sure, they have some chains there, but they also pride themselves on supporting local businesses and bringing downtown eateries to the airport.
I’ve ranted about OTG experiences and CIBO stuff for years to my wife, they’re more common in non-airline terminals that don’t have to compete. Ie look at how horrible JFK terminal 1 is (all one-flight international airlines) vs JFK terminal 4 (all delta): terminal 4 has real-name chains and that’s enough for me to choose delta over others when choosing a flight!
The JFK renovations can't come any sooner.
JFK Terminal 1 is so bad in that you're fooled into thinking that there will also be a McDonald's and Sbarro post security but then you step into a virtual wasteland haha.
this was interesting! thanks
Thanks for looking into this, i travel alot and wondered about it myself...
Great video. Subscribed.
Absolutely fascinating!
Very cool video !
Delaware North is another major "hospitality" company. It's owned by Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. They're not only in airports but sports venues too.
New to the channel, subbed!
Awesome video !
Amazing video!
The Salt Lake City airport also has the PDX model of food and beverage businesses. A lot of the restaurants in the airport are well known local restaurants.
fun fact, these restaurants also get all of their food from a single vendor bc of security reasons. at msp it’s BAL (Bradford Airport Logistics) and you’ll see their trucks everywhere.
Montana too!!! Whoever bought air host serves billings mt, the restaurants look localish, but it’s like Sodexho for restaurants.
So this is like ghost kitchens, but came before the internet?
My first airport food experiences were portland and lax. . . Portland's food was super cool, and lax was like a mall! So crazy cool!
Crucial part of the business model is mediocre food at premium prices
Back in the day, it was an adventure to go to the airport and watch the planes. It appealed to kids and airports realized expanding it as a family outing. This was of course before higher security measures were put into place. But typically the main terminal entrance still allows general public prior to security checkpoints so people can still get a little of that experience.
Places like McDonald's are usually (always?) franchises. Does anything stop OTG from running all the McDonald's and Starbucks and Subways or whatever in all airports?
I fly out of Heathrow London a lot. I've noticed how soul less the bars are these days. 10 years ago there were places I actually enjoyed popping into. Part of my trip.
As a NYer this is sooo accurate! I remember JFK and LGA not having so many "fake" places lol. I worked w OTG for like a month but yes, they require fingerprinting etc, and the ipad thing is so true!! Very informative video thank you!! 😊
PHL airport does have multiple Chickie’s And Pete’s sports bar and crab fries, which is directly operated by the chain… and OTG was among lobbyists to allow PA airport restaurants to begin serving alcohol at 5 AM daily while the rest of PA is allowed to begin serving alcohol at 7 AM Mon-Sat, 12 PM Sun
"It's 5AM somewhere"
@@cs8712😂
My local airport (a very small one which only connects people to the nearest big city airport) used to (or maybe still does?) host events like weddings and corporate banquets on site.
Another factor….owning a restaurant or store is a license to print money. Go back to the 90s in Atlanta. Best Fest was what it was called. Leadership of Atlanta got caught awarding stall licenses to people who had given them money. All possible since airport access for commercial is a tightly regulated area. You are eating exactly what the cronies of that states elected leadership in the past or today allows.
Kinda like Vegas ever wonder how all those vendors can stay in business with the cost of rent etc but on the busiest day in Vegas it’s empty? They figured it out. They a percentage of sales as rent. This allows all the stores to stay open. The store since its on resort property covers water, heat, a/c you name it.
Great vid
Great video
PDX is a fantastic airport in pretty much every category but food and beverage is probably the most unique. It has the McDonalds etc for convenience but also a ton of local favorites and the prices are all "street price." So there is no airport price gouging, even on alcohol. I used to fly out/into Portland weekly for work and didn't mind time spent at PDX at all. It is very "Portland" in the best way.
As for the guy mentioned who put all the ipads in at JFK, he can rot. I think it was Newark that did that a few years back and it was so disorienting to see 3000 iPad screens wherever you looked, all quickly scrolling through ads in unison. Even at a 4-top table there would be an iPad at every seat, glaring in your face even after you had ordered. Last time I was at Newark they seemed to be gone. Hopefully never to return.
in tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports not only are there only recognizably brand name restaurants, but they offer exclusive menu items not available at the more commonly found branches, and the prices are nearly identical to any other branch. and often youll find high end chains harder to find in most japanese cities.
Ayyy this guy used to make all those boston videos
Shouts to you bro keep working
Whenever I have a stop in DFW I never see these generic stores, but whenever I go to MSP for example, they're the only thing you can buy
Stockholm Arlanda has an obnoxious amount of these places. Many don't have room for a full kitchen, was already wondering if it's probably all prepared at one central kitchen. The people coming up with the restaurant names truly excel at making them absolutely forgettable.
We have similar in the UK at rail stations; certain brands you'll only ever see at a train station. These are all part of SSP (Select Service Partners) which i think used to be part of British Rail as their registered business address is the samw as one of Network Rail's London offices. SSP also franchise brands like Burger King and Starbucks; in fact, railway stations and motorway service areas - another hotspot for these "fake" brands as you put it - are pretty much the only place you'll find BK stores in the UK as most of ther "High Street" branches shut about 15 years ago.
Interesting, we've got some form or variant of them in the US as SSP America.
Thanks a lot!
Funny thing, were i live, a few 5 / 8 years ago, some " world wide " brands could only be found in the airports. One example being starbucks, the only one could only be found at the airport