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Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Taqueria rendering.
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Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Taqueria rendering.
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Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Pizza rendering.
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Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, TexasTavern rendering.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Taqueria rendering.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Pizza rendering.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, TexasTavern rendering.
Award-winning design firm Rockwell Group will transform the dining and retail space in United’s terminals; Local chefs and local products will give travelers a true taste of Houston.
HOUSTON – United Airlines and OTG announced plans to elevate the dining and retail experience in United’s terminals at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, a key hub in the airline’s global network.
The innovative in-terminal experience will include the creation of restaurants inspired by some of the region’s most notable chefs, thousands of iPads equipped with OTG’s award-winning customer experience platform, flo®, farm-to-terminal offerings from local markets and spaces designed by renowned architecture firm Rockwell Group.
OTG will oversee all food, beverage and retail operations for Terminal B South, Terminal C (including the new C North Concourse which opens in 2017) and Terminal E.
“United is pleased to bring this industry-leading airport experience concept to our Houston hub,” said Gavin Molloy, United’s vice president of corporate real estate. “The collaboration with OTG will provide exceptional food, beverage and retail options with the comfort and high-tech amenities that travelers today want.”
“Our OTG team is excited about working with United to transform the airline’s terminals at George Bush Intercontinental Airport into a hot spot for wonderful food and great shopping,” said Rick Blatstein, OTG’s chief executive officer. “This will be a brand new airport experience for Houston travelers including restaurants inspired by local chefs, the addition of modern amenities such as iPads, redesigned gate areas and world-class shopping. We are thrilled to be part of this partnership.”
New concepts have already begun to open with five of OTG’s award-winning CIBO Express Gourmet Markets and the Republic Grille – all in Terminal E. The markets feature an array of healthy options and offerings from local purveyors.
United’s customers and employees will see the biggest transformation with the opening of the new C North Concourse planned for early next year. Details of the chefs and designs were released today.
Chef-Driven Dining with Unique Local Flavor: Plans for C North include a variety of new dining venues with five local and notable chefs set to consult on the restaurant concepts and menus. They include:
- Chef Roland Laurenzo will create a Taqueria reminiscent of famed El Tiempo Cantina. Laurenzo and his family are a dynasty in Houston – his mother, Mama Ninfa, is credited with introducing fajitas to the United States via Houston in the 1970’s.
- Chef Ryan Pera will bring local, seasonal pizzas to the terminal, a reflection of his strong dedication to sustainable practices as demonstrated at his celebrated restaurant Coltivare. Named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit, Coltivare, inspired by Pera’s Italian heritage, uses Gulf Coast ingredients.
- Chef John Nguyen is famous in Houston for merging Cajun seafood staples with Vietnamese flair at the Cajun Kitchen.
- Chef Monica Pope will create a locally-inspired Panini Bar. Pope shares her passion for connecting local farmers and consumers with cooking classes as well as owning Houston’s own Sparrow Bar + Cookshop and Beaver’s restaurants.
- Chef Chris Shepherd, 2014 James Beard Best Chef Southwest, will open a Houston-focused tavern, featuring the flavors of the city’s diverse population. His restaurant, Underbelly, is inspired by the city and aims to tell the story of Houston food.
More on these local chefs can be found here.
Innovative Design: World-renowned architecture and design firm Rockwell Group will lead the cutting-edge transformation of the dining and retail spaces, which will include social media moments to provide an eye-catching backdrop for travelers to snap and share photos of their travel experience.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
