Mount Charles invests £1 million in upgraded F&B area at Belfast International Airport : Moodie Davitt Report

NORTHERN IRELAND. A newly-named and revamped food & beverage area, The Northern QTR, has been unveiled at Belfast International Airport. The upgraded offering represents a £1 million (US$1.27 million) investment by catering and facilities management business, Mount Charles.

The Northern QTR is home to four F&B venues that are self-operated, three of which are own brand entities, by Mount Charles. They are Coco Diablo, which offers Mexican-inspired food and drink; Fed & Watered, whose menu is dominated by locally-sourced produce; and an all-new 24ft, 360 degree bar – NQTR Bar.

Freshly Chopped bills itself as Ireland’s leading and original healthy fast food retailer. This venue is one of three in Belfast operated under franchise by Mount Charles.

The final venue is operated by Mount Charles under franchise from Freshly Chopped, the Ireland-headquartered healthy fast food specialist. The restaurant’s space includes open-theatre chopping stations, where foods are freshly chopped and dressed by restaurant staff.

Mount Charles said that the upgraded F&B area has created an additional 30 new full and part-time jobs, with a total of 70 people now employed at The Northern QTR.

The centrepiece of The Northern QTR is a newly-constructed circular, 24ft bar.

Mount Charles Head of Sales & Marketing Gavin Annon said that the early feedback from passengers has been “fantastic”. He added: “Our aim was to completely overhaul the existing units to create a food & beverage offering that would enhance the customer experience and rival that of any top tier airport in the UK, and we are confident that the Northern QTR will deliver this.”

Coco Diablo is Belfast-headquartered operator Mount Charles’ own Mexican cantina brand.

Belfast International Airport Director of Commercial Development Brian Carlin said: “These bright, modern, appealing outlets offer a great new range of options that caters for all our passengers.

Fed & Watered is another Mount Charles own brand, and features locally-sourced produce.

“With over six million passengers travelling through the airport this year we are sure that the Northern QTR will be a huge hit with our passengers.”

Belfast International Airport’s Brian Carlin (left), and Mount Charles Chairman Trevor Annon officially launch the new food offering with help from Trevor’s granddaughter, Faye Annon. Four-year-old Faye has a condition known as Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA), a rare bone marrow failure disorder which means her bone marrow does not produce enough red blood cells to sustain her life. She relies on the general public to donate blood so that she can receive transfusions every three weeks. Faye came along to help raise awareness of two charities which support her: Angel Wishes and DBA UK.

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 eZine 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. FAB 2019 will be held in Dallas, hosted by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on 26-27 June. HMSHost North America CEO Steve Johnson will be among the powerful line-up of speakers.

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