FEATURE // Airport venues
Up up and away
AIRPORTS HAVE LONG been the domain of
Savvy operators aren’t just heading to the airport for a holiday — they’re opening venues in them.
for a meal on the go or a celebratory
WORDS Annabelle Cloros PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Li for ST. Ali
20 | Hospitality
Chef and restaurateur Mike McEnearney
fast food operators and overpriced fare, but it
didn’t hesitate when the opportunity to
and are looking to replicate premium
Airport presented itself. “In 2015, I was
seems execs have had a change of direction, dining experiences found in their respective cities. Airports present an opportunity to
leave a lasting impression on domestic and international tourists — not to forget the thousands of employees working on-site. With 36.7 million people moving
open Kitchen by Mike (KBM) at Sydney approached by Emirates, who had been
circling KBM for quite some time,” he says. “They had done their research and looked
at what KBM was and thought it would fit perfectly in the airport landscape.”
Launching the brand at the international
through Melbourne Airport in FY17/18
airport in 2017 was not just a business
Airport in 2018, operators are guaranteed
and his family travel frequently, and the
and 44.4 million travelling through Sydney a constant stream of customers keen
Champagne. Mike McEnearney from
Kitchen by Mike and ST. Ali’s Salvatore Malatesta talk to Hospitality about
expanding their customer bases, appealing to the masses and the ebbs and flows of managing airport outlets.
decision, but a personal one. McEnearney chef saw a gap in the market for healthy,
whole foods. “I jumped at the opportunity
to give travellers a chance to eat what they wanted to eat — it would change my life
and other people’s lives,” he says. The chef went on to open a second airport outlet,
Kitchen by Mike Express, in early 2018 in the casual dining precinct.
