by Melissa Howsam | Feb 25, 2025 | Buzz, March 2025
An effort to bring more regional dining concepts to RDU is helping local businesses take off.
“The new restaurants we opened this year reflect the vibrant flavors of the Triangle region and elevate the airport dining experience to a new level.”
— Stephanie Hawco
Boasting a benefit that soars far beyond the hungry traveler, RDU’s commitment to local has really taken off. Already replacing a slew of chains with hot local concepts since its 2020 inception, the RDU concessions model is also rooted in keeping the airport relevant via a continuous “refresh” process. So, as agreements expire every three to 10 years, new businesses have the opportunity to submit proposals to earn their time in the terminal.
Now looking to welcome more than a dozen additional concepts in 2025 as RDU “reimagines its restaurant scene,” says Stephanie Hawco, director of media relations at Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, that concerted effort to lean local and keep concepts fresh is already apparent from first entree of highly traveled Terminal 2 via the swap of two prominent Starbucks spots bookending TSA.
The long-defunct pre-security, post-flight locale now boasts Bull City fave Beyu Caffé, while the always buzzing post-TSA cafe is brewing up Raleigh-based Black & White Coffee Roasters—the latter of which “serves more coffee than our two streetside locations combined,” says B&W Director of Education Trevor Clark. And, of course, the adjacent 2021-bowed La Farm Bakery & Cafe continues to be a crowd favorite.
“The record number of passengers who are traveling through RDU need a great cup of coffee and a meal to fuel their journeys,” says Hawco. “The new restaurants we opened this year reflect the vibrant flavors of the Triangle region and elevate the airport dining experience to a new level.”
Of those—and giving a glimpse of the airport’s vision—there’s long-revered RDU respite 42nd Street Oyster Bar-turned-Crawford’s Genuine, alongside celeb chef Scott Crawford’s proximal Carolina Craft. Additional imminent highly anticipated local concepts set to bow as early as spring include Durham Distillery’s Conniption Cocktails and Cuisine, Adios! By Oscar Diaz, Bongiorno & Son Italian Specialties, and Raleigh Beer Garden, among several others.
Beyond “connecting visitors with our region’s culture,” expresses Clark, “and giving residents access to their favorite local brands before traveling” at one of the fastest-growing international airports in the country, RDU’s conceptualization is bigger than tasty tours through local favorites and flavors—it’s about brand visibility. And it’s big business for NC, adds Durham Distillery co-owner and CEO/President Melissa Katrincic.
A boon for the local economy and a win-win for the hospitality community, these concepts take it a step further by leaning local for their purveyors, creating a big ramp up in business. Think the cult-classic Union Special breads and pastries featured at Black & White and Crawford’s proximal pair, or the premium dark chocolate from Raleigh’s Videri Chocolate Factory blended in Durham Distillery’s Damn Fine Chocolate Liqueur.
“RDU is such a representation of the Triangle,” emphasizes Union Special owner/baker Andrew Ullom. Ultimately, by embracing the Triangle’s F&B scene from the ground up, the terminal is serving up far more than tasteful destinations on your next layover—it’s serving as a vehicle for community allowing travelers and residents alike to feel good about the money they spend.
by Anna Beth Adcock | Jun 29, 2023 | Buzz, July/August 2023
Now boarding… RDU is delivering a slew of updates this year and beyond.
RDU Airport is going wings up. With travel back on track—approximately 235 million tourists took an international trip during the first three months of 2023 per the World Tourism Organization—and an approved 25-year master plan dubbed Vision 2040, our local launch pad has high-flying goals for the future.
“We have so many exciting things coming up,” says RDU Director of Media Relations Stephanie Hawco. “We are going to touch every corner of this campus over the next several years, from replacing our primary runway to expanding and improving our road systems, parking, security checkpoints and restaurant concepts.” … To that end, in mid-June, RDU’s governing board approved $3.5 mill of funding toward expansion/improvement efforts—think adding upward of 15 and 20 gates to Terminals 1 and 2, respectively; three baggage carousels to T2, plus a larger Customs facility and more ticketing counters, to name a few updates running our way.
“We are also looking at breaking records this summer set in 2019 for passenger travel,” says Hawco. “It’s going to be a busy summer at RDU!” Ahead of RDU’s anticipated updates, we chatted with Hawco for the rundown on what we can expect to fly on the scene.
What’s the vision for Vision 2040? This plan spells out how the airport is going to grow over the next few decades—including everything from infrastructure (like roads) to building a new runway, and adding gates and more parking. In addition to that, we are adding a dozen or more restaurants and dining concepts that will be coming online in the next year or so—and we’re doing a lot of things in general to improve the passenger experience at RDU.
When can travelers expect those restaurant concepts to open?We have a lot of passenger demand for some new options. Scott Crawford will be opening three different concepts in late 2024 (Carolina Craft, Crawford’s Genuine, and Butcher’s Burger and Bar) and Oscar Diaz (of Cortez and Cuya fame) will be opening Adios! in late 2024 as well. We want to have more local NC flavors in the airport, so we are really excited to be bringing these options in.
What about breweries and coffee spots? Beyu Caffe, a Durham-based shop, is slated to open pre-security in Terminals 1 and 2 in the next few months; Black & White Coffee Roasters will be coming spring 2024 in the former Starbucks spot right after you get through security in Terminal 2; and La Farm Bakery has plans to expand its seating area. There are also a lot of breweries coming, which are always popular with airport guests. We’ll have a Bond Brothers Taproom & Kitchen, Raleigh Beer Garden and Lonerider Brewing—all great choices for passengers either coming off their flight or waiting to board.
Is Terminal 1 getting any love? Avelo, Spirit and Southwest are all flying out of Terminal 1 now. Plus, Beyu Caffe and Raleigh Beer Garden will both be located in Terminals 1. And we have a number of new dining concepts coming to both terminals.
And those upcoming pet relief stations? We are currently in the design phase of building pet relief areas in Terminal 1 and 2. They will be located after security and will be for both service animals and people traveling with their pets.
Any travel tips? We recommend getting to the airport early—two hours for domestic flights and three hours for an international flight—for time to park, get inside the terminal, check in to your flight and get through security. Passengers can also book parking in advance on our website and check their flight status online. rdu.com
