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AIRPORT
BARS:
BRINGING MORE STYLE TO AIRPORTS
A
new trend at airports across the country is the emergence of stylish bars that
appeal to the fashionable tastes of today's business and leisure travelers. Accustomed
to chic hotel bars and the designer uniforms of JetBlue and Song flight attendants,
travelers are now finding world-class design at airport bars. New York's LaGuardia
Airport and Philadelphia International Airport exemplify the move towards including
stylish bars in the overall mix of bars, restaurants and shops at airports.
Paul
McGinn, who heads MarketPlace Development, a Boston-Based airport retail developer,
attributes this shift in bar and restaurant design to the ongoing emphasis placed
by airports on customer service. "Knowing the customer is key", he said.
"Airports strive to meet the varying needs of their passengers. While many
customers are comfortable in traditional bar settings, other travelers are coming
to expect more sophisticated drinking and dining venues." McGinn added that
airports are now attracting
experienced bar and restaurant operators who are
adept at designing spaces that appeal to customers looking for an alternative
to the more traditional bars and restaurants commonly found at airports.
At
LaGuardia Airport, two bars and restaurants in the Central Terminal stand out:
the Figs restaurant by celebrity chef Todd English - recently awarded "Best
Airport Restaurant Design" by Airport Revenue News, and the new Akoya Sushi
Bar and Lounge by Philadelphia-based OTG Management.
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Figs |
Featuring
the creations of Todd English, one of America's top chefs and People Magazine's
50 Most Beautiful People, Figs overlooks LaGuardia's airfield from the Terminal's
central three-story atrium. The Figs menu showcases an array of innovative and
adventurous pizza, pasta and entrées highlighting English's signature,
inventive Mediterranean cuisine.
Todd
English has mentioned that Figs is aimed at customers who have enough time to
relax before their flight and offers "a pretty hip look, as if the restaurant
were in Manhattan." He adds that it is "warm and inviting, more like
a lounge."
Figs
was designed by noted restaurant designer Peter Niemitz, who has designed Carmine's,
Docks Oyster Bar and Virgil's Real BBQ in New York City and who created nine American-themed
restaurants for EuroDisney in Paris, France. His design approach for Figs features
large scale "furniture" in the form of a long bar and perimeter knee
walls in aniline stained maple. Upholstered lounge, high top and traditional dining
type seating offer
variety to the traveling guest.
A Japanese, full service Sushi Bar and Lounge, Akoya satisfies the craving so many
travelers have for something exotic and different. The Lounge features a full
traditional sushi and seafood menu made onsite with only the freshest ingredients.
The dramatic bar entices the traveler with vibrant magenta and purple tones, intricate
serpentine detailing, and state-of-the-art 42 inch flat-screen, plasma televisions.
At
Philadelphia International Airport, two bars debuted less than 10 months ago in
the New International Terminal A West. Bolstering the city's reputation for chic
restaurant design are
Cibo Bistro & Wine Bar and the Shades of Blue Lounge.
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Cibo
Bistro & Wine Bar |
An
upscale Italian Bistro, the Cibo Bistro &Wine Bar serves authentic Italian
cuisine and over 32 wines by the glass from around the globe. Patrons seated in
the dining area have a clear view of the open "drama kitchen" through
an archway of colorful backlit panels. Other design features include a 45-foot
long under-lit onyx bar, neon towers and up-lights to illuminate the 20 foot tall
back bar. Bright, modern pendant lighting suspended from the 25 foot ceiling finish
the celestial feeling of the ambiance.
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Shades
of Blue Lounge |
True
to its name, shades of the color blue can be found throughout this hip jazz lounge.
From the cobalt blue neon radiating from the bar to the high back, blue hued,
plush seating surrounding the lounge area, "Blue" is the place for patrons
to sit back, relax and enjoy the smooth sounds of jazz. Its comfy, overstuffed
couches and stylish, oversized jazz murals, have
made Blue a favorite among
international travelers. |
