Eastern Market, located in Terminal A at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, provides a strong visual and cultural connection to Detroit, promoting local brands and a distinct sense of place for travelers.
Challenge
The design team was challenged to transform a heavily trafficked, open and barrier-free concourse area into an inward-focused restaurant environment intertwined with active passenger boarding areas. The project also needed to accommodate an existing retail tenant that remained open and operational throughout construction.
Solution
The design creates an immersive concession experience that expands knowledge of Detroit and the surrounding communities through local branding, interactive elements, and chef-prepared farm-to-table dining. Located adjacent to arrival and departure gates, the restaurant provides a relaxed and inclusive experience while establishing a strong sense of place within the airport. The high open ceiling and unenclosed location required a complex mechanical system designed to exhaust through the floor structure.
Outcome
Travelers have embraced the locally themed restaurant, which infuses the flavor of the local community into the airport experience. The concept has exceeded the client’s initial sales projections by 45%, demonstrating the value of bringing local identity and dining experiences directly into the terminal environment.
Designed within an open concourse environment, the restaurant creates an inward-focused dining experience without separating guests from the energy of the terminal.
This unique interactive concession area creates an immersive experience not expected in a bustling airport environment.
This food service concession, located in Terminal A (Gates A2 – A10) at the Detroit Metro Airport (DTW, provides a strong visual and cultural tie to the city of Detroit, MI. It promotes local brands and a strong Detroit identity, including a high-tech hologram at the gateway that expands knowledge of Detroit and the surrounding communities. This unique interactive concession area creates an immersive experience not expected in a bustling airport environment. The pre-board dining area provides a relaxed and inclusive experience for chef-prepared farm-to-table meals adjacent to active gate holds where travelers gather.
The design team was challenged to take an open and barrier-free concourse area traversed heavily by pedestrians and create an inward-focused food and alcohol friendly restaurant environment intertwined with the passenger boarding areas. The placement of the Eastern Market restaurant provides a strong sense of place to arriving and departing travelers in the Airport. The space infuses the flavor of the local community and provides a unique destination dining experience. Our client, Midfield Concession Enterprises, selected this location to increase patronage by offering dining options directly adjacent to many arrival and departure gates.
The high open ceiling in the unenclosed restaurant’s location meant a complex MEP system had to be designed to exhaust out through the floor of the structure. Additionally, an existing retail tenant kiosk occupied space alongside the new restaurant and needed to remain open and operational throughout construction. The owner released the project for bid to a preselected pool of general contractors. Travelers have embraced the locally-themed restaurant, and the client has reported exceeding their initial sales projections by 45%.
