HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Airport hospitality can make or break your traveling experience. "When people travel through this airport, it's the last thing they see when they leave, the first thing they see when we when, when they come back." Jeff Switzer, President and CEO of Tailwind Hospitality shares.
Butch Roberts, CEO of Huntsville International Airport, shares that the airport in October alone has seen over 150,000 passengers and making the experience enjoyable is a key focus. "If they have a positive experience here, then they're more likely to use Huntsville International Airport," Roberts shares. "So, we want them to have you know, a positive experience in food and retail is definitely a big part of that."
HSV is further upgrading passenger experience by adding new food and retail options in 2025. "We're excited to have the opportunity to get more square footage and build this out and double the seating capacity and double the offerings that we're going to have here," Switzer shares. "We'll have a standalone coffee shop, a standalone bar, and then a full-service restaurant with a grab and go option."
Passengers will soon be able to grab a quick bite or have a casual dining experiences at places like:
- Rocket City Bar and Grill
- Rocket City Express
- Sambazon
- Starbucks
- Interstellar Pizza
"Starbucks is a national brand that everybody seems to love, right. and we know that people look for that in an airport like this. There is competition between other airports in the area. Nashville and Chattanooga, etc..." Switzer shares. "So, something that stands out from this airport so that passengers don't bleed to other airports, that's a big thing to try to retain passengers in this community, to this airport. so that was a big thing. Then the Interstellar Pizza is a local concept, a local brewery is a fantastic place. So that just brings a good sense of place."
The project will take 12 to 14 months, so expect to see orange cones and boarded walls for a while. "It's just going to be a process, you know, to keep it operational while you're, you know, still trying to serve food and building," Roberts shares. "That's why we want to get the message out and hopefully people will be patient with us and know what's coming and it'll be worth the wait."
Huntsville International says the project will be done in 3 phases to help minimize concourse congestion.