There is a new era dawning for the Atlanta airport’s Concourse C food court, which has been run by a company millions of dollars in debt to the city.
Atlanta-based Global Concessions, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, has sold leases for nine of its restaurants to St. Louis-based OHM Concession Group, a new entrant to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The group will take over the entire Concourse C food court and restaurants in Concourses B and F, including Jekyll Island Seafood Co., the Coffee Beanery and Blue Moon Brewhouse.
The $8.25 million transaction, set to close Friday, enabled OHM to buy into major leases at the world’s busiest airport through a bankruptcy court auction. It will also make the city whole for the millions in past-due rent that accrued over years.
“We’re a growing company in the industry, and Atlanta Hartsfield is the busiest airport in the world. Everybody wants to be there,” President and CEO of OHM Concession Group Milan Patel told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview.
“We wanted to be in Atlanta. It’s an important step in our journey for our future growth.”
Credit: OHM Concession Group
Credit: OHM Concession Group
The bankruptcy court process preempted a special procurement the city of Atlanta had attempted to use to push Global out of its lease, because the concessionaire’s assets became the purview of the court.
A lawyer for Global Concessions declined to comment.
The company was founded in 1991 by Terry Harps and grew through the city’s Equal Business Opportunity program to operate more than a dozen restaurants at Hartsfield-Jackson.
In a statement, the airport said it has “full confidence in the court-supervised process and will continue to monitor developments as they occur.”
Patel said OHM plans to retain Global’s 132 Atlanta employees and make continuity a priority as the team gets to know one another ahead of a busy holiday travel period.
OHM is a 27-year-old concessions company that operates more than 80 dining locations in American airports, but this is its first foray into Atlanta.
Patel said its deal includes two joint venture partners: Atlanta-based Kevin Holt‘s Phoenix Partners F LLC and St. Louis-based Final Phase Marketing.
He urged Atlanta travelers to give the locations a second chance with the new management.
“Our name says it all. OHM stands for Outstanding Hospitality Management,” Patel said. “Hopefully, we improve the morale of our associates so that it can trickle to the guest experience.”
He added: “It’s going to be hard work for the first six months. But once we get it right-sized, the right levels of staffing at the right time when passengers are flying, (the experience) should get a lot better for the passengers.
“And passengers should give us a second chance. We’re a new company coming in.”
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