Atlanta Airport is Home to Top Producing Concessionaires

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Atlanta Airport is Home to Top Producing Concessionaires
By Triphenya Bailey

The sheer volume of people passing through the corridors of the world’s busiest airport makes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International an ideal location for a business establishment.

Nine of the concessionaires operating at the Atlanta Airport were named as the top producing units within their respective companies for 2005. Concourses A and C, with four each, seemed to house most of the top performing locations at Hartsfield-Jackson.

Among the top producing franchises on Concourse A were Great Wraps, Krystal, Chick-Fil-A and Wall Street Deli. On Concourse C the best performing food and beverage outlets were Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Wendy's, Popeye's Chicken and Charley's Steakery. The Seattle's Best Coffee location on Concourse B rounded out the list of number one ranked franchises at the Airport.

From Airport passengers and employees to construction workers and contractors, there seems to be an unending flow of potential customers for the 200-plus retail and food outlets operating within the Atlanta Airport. In 2005, more than 85.9 million people traveled through the airport en route or returning from various destinations.

"Establishing a broad variety of high quality establishments is the key to a successful concessions program," commented John Cugasi, the director of concessions at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. "It is important to be able to anticipate passengers' palates - from hot beverages to fine dining, as well as the fast food and food-on-the-go options," he explained.

To encourage passengers to partake of the food offerings, officials at the Airport constructed inviting food courts modeled after the open-air concepts popular in suburban mall settings. "We want passengers to have a first-rate experience when they are in our airport," said General Manager Ben DeCosta.