“A love letter to Oklahoma City:” Paradies Lagardère reveals ambitious retail and dining programme for Will Rogers World Airport

USA. Will Rogers World Airport and leading airport concessionaire Paradies Lagardère, with approval of the Oklahoma City Airport Trust, have announced plans to “redefine the traveller experience” with new retail stores and restaurants.

The partners will deliver 17 new concepts including national and local community brands as part of a  terminal expansion project. The vision for the programme was unveiled through a recent competitive request for proposals.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the timeline for the full programme will take place in phases proportionate to returning passenger levels.

Tuk Tuk Go will be joined by a range of other F&B and retail concepts this year as part of a major overhaul of commercial at the air gateway to Oklahoma

“With this exciting new concession programme, nationally recognised brands are expected to come online close to the opening of the terminal expansion later this year. Local brands will become available as air travel recovers,” said Director of Airports Mark Kranenburg. “With the implementation of this new programme, we are confident that retail and dining at WRWA will be better than it’s ever been.”

Currently, Paradies Lagardère operates proprietary brands including grab & go concept Tuk Tuk Go along with two full-service restaurant/bar concepts, The Grill at OKC and OKC Flight Cantina.

New concepts that Will Rogers travellers will encounter include Vino Volo, Plenty Mercantile, Tin Lizzie’s, Hatch and Osteria 

This Summer will bring the opening of a Tripadvisor travel essentials retail store while Vino Volo Craft will showcase the airport wine brand’s evolution by offering its wine programme alongside a new selection of craft cocktails.

Starbucks is planned to open in the Autumn as will Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steak Burgers, which has dozens of popular locations across Oklahoma City and was voted to Forbes’ 2019 ‘America’s Best Franchises’ list.

Paradies Lagardère, with business partners Kamber’s at the Airport LLC, and Plenty Mercantile LLC, will schedule the remaining lineup of locations which include:

Restaurants

  • Elemental Coffee Café, a popular community-driven, small-batch roastery and café
  • Hatch, an Oklahoma City breakfast destination
  • Osteria, a restaurant and craft bar dedicated to classic Italian cuisine
  • Tropical Smoothie Café, serving smoothies and food options

Retail Stores

  • Plenty Mercantile, a local gift store that champions sustainability and hospitality
  • Tin Lizzie’s, offering a crafted selection of Oklahoma-owned boutiques, artisans and makers
  • Oklahoma’s Own News 9: Travel essentials, showcasing the KWTV News 9
  • Corsa featuring Brighton and SPANX fashion & accessories
  • Tech accessories from iStore Express

“The improvements at Will Rogers have been nothing short of extraordinary the last two decades, and the vision presented here by Paradies Lagardère reflects that evolution,” said Mayor David Holt. “We’re America’s 25th largest city, we have unique retail, drink and food options, and they deserve to be highlighted at our airport, which is our city’s front door. From the very beginning of this process, Paradies Lagardère prioritised the concept of highlighting unique local offerings, and I’m delighted with the work they’ve put into it. The concession plan they are advancing will be a love letter to Oklahoma City, and that’s exactly what we deserve. We look forward to this partnership.”

“We greatly appreciate our long-standing partnership with Will Rogers World Airport and applaud their forward- thinking efforts in evolving their overall concessions programme to reflect the new reality of today and the future,” said Gregg Paradies, President and CEO of Paradies Lagardère. “We are confident that our offering of exciting local and national concepts will exceed the expectations of OKC travellers.”

Will Rogers World Airport is Oklahoma City’s major commercial airport and served over 4.4 million travellers in 2019, a record.

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