Terminal concessions at Ontario International Airport are getting a meaningful upgrade this fall, and the process behind the menu rollout offers a useful model for any foodservice operator managing multi-unit programming inside a captive-audience venue.
SSP America, the airport dining operator managing ONT's restaurant portfolio, completed a phased menu refresh across its Terminal 2 anchor, Tap & Pour, adding items that skew toward elevated comfort: a Brekki Burger (beef patty, American cheese, bacon, fried egg, sriracha ketchup), Steak Frites with chimichurri and truffle fries, Carne Asada and Blackened Chicken Tacos, and Totchos Tots finished with queso, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Plant-forward options — Black Bean Elote Burger, Spicy Black Bean & Avocado Salad, Avocado Toast with Egg — round out the expanded offering.
The Culinary Process
What's worth noting for operators isn't just the menu itself — it's the development path. Tony Corona, SSP America's director of operations at ONT, described a bottom-up process: hourly team members contributed ideas first, followed by regional culinary specialist review, recipe iteration, and several weeks of pre-launch training. Fresh prep is built into the model — steaks are cut on-site, chimichurri is made in-house. That kind of culinary infrastructure is increasingly a differentiator in airport foodservice, where operators have historically leaned on simplified, low-skill menus to manage high turnover and variable passenger volume.
The rollout aligns with a broader shift visible across major U.S. airports: concessionaires are investing in menu complexity and ingredient quality to compete with the off-airport dining options travelers compare them against — consciously or not. For multi-unit operators and their supplier partners, this signals continued demand for training-forward rollout programs and supply chain flexibility that supports made-to-order preparation.
Lounge Programming
Simultaneously, ONT's two Aspire Lounges — one per terminal — introduced three specialty cocktails through November, tied to the airport's 10th anniversary of local control. The drinks (a rum-pineapple-curaçao blend, a citrus vodka-peach schnapps build, and a vodka-curaçao-grenadine option) function as limited-time programming, a tactic lounge operators use to create seasonal relevance and give frequent travelers a reason to re-engage the space.
For beverage suppliers and brand managers, lounge limited-time offerings at regional airports represent an underutilized placement channel — particularly for spirit brands seeking trial among business and premium-leisure travelers without the CPM costs of major hub activations.
Penn Jones, Senior Manager of Tenant Relations for Ontario International Airport, framed the combined effort around the passenger experience: operators want the time between check-in and boarding to feel intentional, not transactional. That framing is consistent with what airport F&B procurement teams are prioritizing heading into 2027 — concepts that reduce dwell-time friction and increase per-cap spend simultaneously.
For foodservice operators, distributors, and culinary consultants evaluating airport channel opportunities, ONT's SSP rollout illustrates what a credible concessions upgrade looks like at a mid-sized airport: staff-led ideation, culinary specialist oversight, structured training, and fresh-prep standards that can be maintained at volume. The brand launch mechanics — phased by terminal, supported by LTO lounge programming — give the airport's F&B portfolio a cohesive narrative without requiring a full-concept overhaul.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
