HMSHost captures €80 million dining contract at Cairns Airport’s domestic terminal

AUSTRALIA. Travel restaurateur HMSHost International has won a seven-year contract for food & beverage services at Cairns Airport’s domestic terminal.

All stores should be completed and operational by mid-2020. The portfolio will include locally-inspired and well-known dining concepts, with the business expected to generate €80 million in turnover over the term.

The locally-inspired new concepts for Cairns Airport include Ochre by Chef Craig Squire (above), seafood restaurant and noodle express bar Café China and Industry One Coffee.

HMSHost International will introduce three popular brands from the Cairns region. These include Ochre Deli and Restaurant, which specialises in dishes created from sustainable regional produce by Australian chef Craig Squire.

Chinese seafood restaurant and noodle express bar Café China, led by owner Harry Sou, is another entrant, and is joined by Industry One Coffee, which sells fair-traded coffee from growing regions around the world. Industry One, recently rebranded as White Whale Coffee Roasters, boasts a strong association with the Reef Restoration Foundation, focusing on the preservation of the Great Barrier Reef.

Additionally, HMSHost’s offer will feature Bistrot, its proprietary brand serving Italian and artisan food in the style of a city market, with local sourcing of product.

HMSHost also brings four leading Australian brands to the domestic terminal. These are: Hungry Jack’s, the franchise of the international Burger King chain; chicken and burger brand Oporto; Roll’d Vietnamese and Schnitz fast casual dining restaurant.

HMSHost International CEO Walter Seib said: “Cairns Airport is a dynamic and growing airport, one of our appreciated partners, and we are delighted to grow our business and be awarded this tender, building on our long-standing partnership.

“The opportunity to expand our F&B offering is a win for guests as we continue to develop the foodie journey for departing passengers with a blend of Australian favourites and global performers. Together, we will continue to deliver unparalleled food & beverage experiences for international and local passengers in Tropical North Queensland.”

Bistrot (above), the HMSHost in-house brand, will be complemented by popular Australian names such as Hungry Jack’s, Oporto, Roll’d and Schnitz.

Cairns Airport Chief Commercial Officer Retail, Transport and Property Tracey Groves said: “HMSHost have been a wonderful partner of Cairns Airport for many years now, operating six outlets in T2 for 20 years. When we went to tender, we challenged HMSHost to take their operations in T2 to another level.

“And they rose to that challenge offering us a mix of outstanding international brands, national food court concepts, experiential proprietary concepts and excitingly three amazing concepts from the Cairns downtown market. We look forward to working with HMSHost as we manage through the construction period and over the next seven years.”

HMSHost Asia Pacific Regional Director David Mackay said: “We are thrilled to continue our journey with Cairns Airport and the Cairns community. We have been operating at the airport since 1996 and have always felt we have played our part in making this airport a success.

“To stay ahead of the game, we have worked with Cairns Airport commercial team and our internal Business Development group to bring new and innovative concepts to our portfolio and in fact, new brands to the Cairns market. We plan to address the needs of the varied travelling public now using the domestic terminal and ensure each experience is a memorable experience.”

NOTE: The Moodie Davitt Report also publishes The Foodie Report, the world’s only media focused on airport (and other travel-related) food & beverage. The Foodie Report Newsletter is published every two weeks and The Foodie Report Zine every month.

Please send all news of food & beverage outlet openings, together with images, menus, video etc to Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com to ensure unrivalled global exposure.

The company also organises the annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards. Last year’s FAB took place on 20-21 June in Helsinki. FAB 2019 will be held at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on 26-27 June.

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