Slutty Vegan and Johnny’s Chicken & Waffles are among the new restaurants with Atlanta vibes planned for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as the first major overhaul of airport concessions in more than a decade gains momentum.
The new dining options are part of a long-delayed airport-wide reimagining of dining and retail options that officials say will bring more flavor from Atlanta, Georgia and the South is at the airport. Sellers announced this week include a mix of national and local brands, including a pair of popular Atlanta distilleries.
Slutty Vegan, as well as an ASW Distillery Flights & Bites, a Modern Market Eatery and two Starbucks are planned for Concourse B, according to the airport.
Also planned are Johnny’s Chicken & Waffles, an Old Fourth Distillery + Kitchen, Duff’s Market, ATL Community Market, Citizen’s Culinary Market, On Your Way, Starbucks & StrEAT in Concourses C, E and F.
Plans to revamp the food and retail stores have been delayed for years because of contracting issues and a federal corruption investigation at Atlanta City Hall. The pause continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel plummeted.
Atlanta-based vegan burger chain Slutty Vegan has locations in Atlanta, Jonesboro, Duluth, Truist Park, and on the campuses of Georgia Tech and Spelman, as well as Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas, TX; Harlem and Brooklyn in New York.
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Slutty Vegan recently reached an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit filed by three former Brooklyn employees who alleged management improperly paid its employees. The $10,000 settlement agreement is awaiting a judge’s approval.
Johnny’s Chicken & Waffles, a concept from singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and chef Crystal Smith, his ex-wife, opened in College Park in 2021 and has a second location in Midtown, as well as locations in Glendale, Arizona and Dallas, Texas.
ASW Distillery, based in Atlanta, is a whiskey distillery started by University of Georgia alumni with locations in Buckhead, Battery and the West End. Old Fourth Distillery was the first distillery to open in Atlanta since Prohibition when it debuted in 2014, and was acquired this year by Atlanta-based Shortbarrel.
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The Concourse B locations are being planned by Delaware concessionaire North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, which won the Atlanta airport contract in partnership with H&H Hospitality and Swift Services Inc.
The Concourse C, E and F locations will be opened by a different group of concessionaires – a joint venture of Areas USA Atlanta LLC, Shellis Management Services Inc. and AETC LLC.
The 10-year contracts for the new sites were approved Monday by the Atlanta City Council. It typically takes months for airport concession leases to be finalized and restaurants to be designed and built before they open.
More than a decade has passed since the last renewal of airport-wide concessions, and airport officials plan to offer more concession contracts in terminals and concourses in the coming months .
