Skift Take
The airports-as-destinations trends is great for flyers who have better food and retail options, for cities who can show off their culture, and airports who strive to increase shopping revenues.
Los Angeles International Airport is bringing some local flavor to its Delta terminal with the opening of The Original Farmers Market.
Nine vendors out of the over 100 at the market’s Fairfax Street location were chosen to sell at the airport. Offerings including Mexican dishes, wine and cheese, pastries and dog treats. There are also stands selling fresh fruit and flowers, which should be a happy site for worn-down travelers.
The new space was made possible through a partnership between Delaware North Company, which operates concessions at nationals parks and airports, and A.F. Gilmore, which owns The Original Farmers Market.
LAX isn’t the first airport to bring fresh produce into an otherwise stale space.
A farmers’ market opened up almost two years ago at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. JetBlue Airway set up a temporary farm stand in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport last October. And San Francisco International brings local tastes into the terminal with its Napa Farms Market.
This is all part of a growing trend in which airports aim to become destinations in their own right as well as better reflect the destinations where they are based. The more successful ones have become places where people want to spend time and have experiences and not just pass through.
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Tags: delta air lines, food and drink, lax, los angeles
Photo credit: Diners at Los Angeles' farmers' market. Prayitno / Flickr