A company that has been quietly puppeteering the food and drink choices for millions travelers in the United States for decades may very well be bringing more high-quality specialty coffee to U.S. airports.
Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Autogrill S.p.A-owned foodservice and hospitality company HMSHost said it plans to alter its partnership agreements with a well-known coffee chain called Starbucks in order to bring more local and regional coffee offerings to airports throughout the country.
As with virtually everything in the coffee industry, the decision follows general trends in the restaurant industry. HMSHost said it has had “tremendous success” by bringing popular local restaurants into some 120 U.S. airports. Examples have included outposts of acclaimed non-chain restaurants such as Trade at Boston’s Logan airport, Border Grill at LAX, Publican at Chicago O’Hare, or Hugo’s at George Bush International in Houston.
“We have had great success…
