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Redmond airport director proposes 6,000 sq ft concessions expansion, two RFP packages and local‑vendor incentives
Summary
Airport director Zach Pass outlined plans to add about 6,000 square feet of concessions (roughly 4,500 sf for food and beverage and ~2,000 sf for retail), recommended a food‑hall concept, split procurement into two RFP packages to lower barriers for local vendors, and proposed scoring and a 2% rent discount to favor local goods.
Zach Pass, Redmond's urban airport director, presented a plan to expand the airport's concessions program and release two procurement packages designed to attract both national operators and local businesses.
"As part of this project, we're gonna add about another 6,000 square feet, 4,500 identified for kind of more food and beverage, then close to 2,000 for what we would call retail, gifts, water, travel essentials," Pass said. The proposal favors a mix of travel‑essentials/cafe options and a central food‑hall concept to increase customer choice and faster speed of service.
Pass said the team concluded that a travel‑essentials plus cafe offering (pre‑security) and a food‑hall arrangement (post‑security) score highest against financial and customer metrics. To boost local participation, staff proposed two procurement strategies: split the concessions into two RFP packages so smaller local operators can bid on a pre‑security package without taking on the full food‑hall buildout, and include grading criteria and incentives for local sourcing. Pass described a potential 2% discount on percentage rent attributable to gross sales from local vendors and said roughly 45% of the evaluation score would consider brand recognition and alignment with regional and local trends.
The RFP would be published the first week of October and remain open for 3–4 months. An eight‑member selection committee will evaluate proposals in January or February, and any selected contract will come to council before execution. Pass said the concessionaire would start work in 2027 and would have approximately six months for buildout, with an eventual opening target around October.
Pass acknowledged high buildout costs (industry estimates cited at $1,000–$2,000 per square foot) and said lease terms would likely be 10 years with two extensions and a minimal annual guarantee; he also emphasized the master concessionaire model, where a primary operator administers local franchisees inside the food hall.
Council discussion touched on coffee before security, demand for seating outside security, and whether the RFP could require a specific percentage of local franchisees; Pass said FAA equity rules limit certain procurement language but that grading and incentives can favor locally sourced goods and concepts. Staff also accepted a council suggestion to address airport website accessibility as part of the remodel work.
Pass said staff will return with detailed RFP language, local‑vendor thresholds and implementation specifics prior to formal procurement.
