The Port of Seattle Commission recently authorized the Port to move forward with a competitive selection process for 21 dining and retail opportunities at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The criteria for the upcoming competitive selection process continue to expand opportunities for small businesses, while also responding to public input.
The Port also announced that it offered food cart and kiosk opportunities to Ivar’s, Wendy’s and Maki of Japan. All three restaurants will close in early 2018, as the Port kicks off a major renovation to add 10,000 square feet of mezzanine space to the Central Terminal.
“We want the airport to reflect what we love best about the Northwest and provide top notch service during construction,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. “We value the experience and customer service focus of Ivar’s, Wendy’s and Maki’s of Japan, and are eager to continue that partnership during construction in the Central Terminal. Looking forward, I’m pleased that the competition in our next round will strike the right balance between celebrating our local favorites and creating an environment where newer businesses can compete.”
According to officials, the competitive selection process for the next round of leases, known as Lease Group 4, will begin when official bid documents are soon posted for small and large lease opportunities. Highlights from the competitive selection criteria for Lease Group 4 are:
- Requirement that all proposing firms be fully compliant with Proposition 1 back wages and benefit.
- Requirement that all proposing firms to submit a customer service plan
- Increased emphasis on proposed wages and benefits
- Maintain strong support for small businesses
- Increased preference for local concepts
- Requirement that all proposing firms with more than 35 employees implement a labor peace agreement and
- A new limitation to how many opportunities any one company may win.
The Port is in the middle of a long-term dining and retail redevelopment program in which leases for the majority of the units are expiring over several years. Several new locations are already set to open later this year including Floret, Terminal GetAway Spa, Starbucks Evenings, and a new Qdoba.
Port officials say that the Port of Seattle has set ambitious goals for engagement with small, local and minority businesses. The Port significantly increased outreach, networking and training programs for potential applicants and provided feedback to businesses that were unsuccessful in their prior bids.
Firms interested in competing for the next leases can register at the Port website to be notified about new leasing opportunities as well as training for doing business at Sea-Tac Airport.
