Denver Central Market, the city’s hippest food hall, is headed to Denver International Airport.
Food stands offering Vero Italian pizza, roasted meats and veggies from SK Provisions, Curio bar cocktails and Izzio Artisan Bakery goodies will open next year on the A Concourse.
The high-end restaurants are just some of the vendors that will set up to resemble the marketap RiNo location — a bustling co-op of shops and vendors that this year was named one of Bon Appétit magazine’s .
“It’ll be a very similar set-up to what you see downtown,” airport spokesman Heath Montgomery said. “Almost like its own little food court.”
This taste of local cuisine is part of a surge of 17 new shops and restaurants opening next year at DIA — most highlighting Denver food and culture.
But McDonald’s lovers don’t fret: you can still get your fast food fix. Denver Central Market’s 4,090-square-foot operation will replace Lefty’s Colorado Trail Bar and Grille, between gates A46 and A48, away from the terminal’s main hub of shops and restaurants.
Lefty’s isn’t the only airport haunt that will soon get a makeover. Many contracts for space at the airport are up, Montgomery said. Most will be filled with Colorado-centric retailers.
The new lineup will include Breckenridge Brewery, Brothers BBQ and New Belgium Brewing Sports Bar. Three Starbucks and three Dazbog coffee shops will also dispersed across the three concourses. Convenience stores Larimer Street Market and RiNo District Market will replace Gifts in Flight and Connections MadeEZ locations.
DIA saw a record 58.3 million passengers last year, and there now are 77 restaurants, 43 shops and 45 carts and kiosks operating in the main terminal and concourses, according to an airport press release. Airport retailers and restaurants logged nearly $370.5 million in sales in 2016.