USA. HMSHost has opened 1897 Market, a new “urban gourmet” dining concept, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. A combination of food, drink, entertainment and shopping, 1897 Market recognises the need “to build something to excite travellers” and is “a completely unique experience in the airport”, according to HMSHost.
Named for the year in which HMSHost was founded (originally as Van Noy Railway News), the concept was developed along with celebrity chef and television personality Todd English.
English’s knowledge of culinary traditions and emerging food trends from around the world helped inform the style and menus of 1897 Market, which makes its debut at Charlotte Douglas, said the global travel restaurateur.
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Cutting the ribbon, from left to right: Frank Sickelsmith, Vice President of Adult Beverage and Restaurant Development, HMSHost; Stephanie Havard, Executive Vice President of Restaurant Development, HMSHost; Larry Jenkins, Vice President of Operations, HMSHost; Brent Cagle, Interim Aviation Director, Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Steve Johnson, President & CEO, HMSHost; LaWana Mayfield, Councilwoman, City of Charlotte District Three; Mikel Walker, Senior Director of Operations, HMSHost; Steve Douglas, Vice President of Business Development, HMSHost. |
“Creating and launching 1897 Market is a huge step into the future of dining for HMSHost as well as for travellers of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. With this new brand we are offering travellers an unparalleled experience with high-quality dining, drinking and shopping choices all rolled into one location,” said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Stephen Douglas. “We are excited to see 1897 Market open and we thank the airport for being a committed partner and for trusting our vision with this unique concept.”
Travellers can eat, drink and explore the marketplace, which features exhibition cooking, craft cocktail preparation and the opportunity to buy food-related gifts.
HMSHost said the vision for 1897 Market was grounded in a focus on innovation in food and service.
HMSHost Vice President of Adult Beverage and Restaurant Development Frank Sickelsmith said: “We did not hold back with 1897 Market, and in many ways the features that have been incorporated into this initial location in Charlotte Douglas represent the realisation of a wish list we had of assembling a definitive blend of dining and marketplace options for travellers. We wanted to evoke the combined sensations of visiting a chef-driven restaurant, a modern full-service culinary-driven grocer, and a speciality goods store. 1897 Market is a brand that represents who we are at HMSHost and is what we would design if given free reign and the freedom to not spare any detail or idea.”
“Charlotte Douglas International Airport is honoured to be the first location of 1897 Market, HMSHost’s new flagship brand,” said Charlotte Douglas International Airport Interim Aviation Director Brent Cagle. “We congratulate HMSHost on this accomplishment and are pleased to offer this new dining experience to our customers.”
HMSHost said that eating at 1897 Market “is a foodie experience with recipes using local and regional ingredients being crafted with layers of professional culinary observation and hands-on effort. A walk through the restaurant displays a tempting raw bar and a lively exhibition kitchen with spectacles of a mouth-watering carvery, an aromatic grill and an enticing woodstone pizza oven.”
Menus displaying the options are posted on chalk boards throughout the marketplace. Starter options include dirty mac & cheese, parmesan herb chicken tenders and spicy shrimp toast. Featured entrées include steak frites with a whisky-peppercorn cream sauce, while the barbeque shrimp & grits made with local stone-ground cheddar grits is a southern staple at the North Carolina venue.
Sandwiches include carved turkey breast and herb chicken, while the raw bar features east and west coast oysters and Middleneck clams. The breakfast menu features a variety of omelettes made with meat and vegetables from the carvery, as well as Greek yogurt parfaits and buttermilk pancakes.
The bar houses a variety of domestic, imported and craft brews, Scotches and small batch bourbons bottled in bond, and premium wines from around the world. Guests can watch bartenders perform cocktail techniques such as muddling, layering, and infusing.
HMSHost said: “The marketplace component of 1897 Market is traditional town and country style, meets epicurean panache – think upscale, polished shabby chic. As guests make their way through the market’s lightly stained oak shelving, similar in appearance to a hutch in a country home, and cleverly featuring library-style rolling ladders, thoughts may conjure of shopping in the general store on the corner in the old days. The marketplace features a cornucopia of items that a traveller will specifically enjoy picking up for a gift or something special to take home, such as tins of gourmet nuts, specialty candies, and a carry-on cocktail kit which includes all the necessary items to make an “˜emergency’ cocktail (sans liquor).”
The company added: “Nearly everything about 1897 Market is designed with the traveller in mind and creating a welcome occasion in the terminal that is outside of the set itinerary. The layout of the marketplace, the menu, and even the items for sale are all carefully selected to be cognisant of the needs guests have in an airport. For travellers with varying time constraints, a robust to-go component is available in addition to the sit-down dining area, and travellers flying solo will also find copious seating with barstools seating surrounding the exhibition kitchen like a horseshoe with a view.”
