ACE will go where no one has gone before: Retail concessions at Lakeland Linder

The first retail shop at Lakeland Linder International Airport will not be one of the city's popular coffee shops, but a name more familiar to the county's teachers.

Lakeland commissioners voted unanimously Monday to approve a lease agreement with the Aerospace Center for Excellence Inc., better known as ACE, to operate the Lakeland airport's first concession store. The agreement comes less than a month before Avelo Airlines is scheduled to begin offering passenger airline service.

Airport Director Kris Hallstrand said there was a search high and low for someone to offer retail concessions in the airport.

"We talked to folks in the local community, national, international, that are in this business in Tampa and local coffee shops," she said. "Nobody was interested. Especially the first year, this is a very high-risk, low-reward opportunity for somebody."

Avelo is scheduled to begin flights from Lakeland to New Haven, Connecticut, on June 13. The low-budget carrier will start service with one flight each direction, twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

Hallstrand said she began looking at some different vending machine options to provide food and retail options.

"I hated that, but I had no other option," she said.

Hallstrand struck up a conversation with former airport director Gene Conrad, who left the city to become ACE's president and CEO. Conrad asked about ACE possibly providing the airport's concession services.

While ACE might not be the first thing people think of when it comes to food and beverages, Hallstrand said the nonprofit does operate The Island, a local camp store during its annual Sun 'n Fun expo, and has a concession area inside the Florida Air Museum.

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"It's a new concept at the airport as we transition to commercial air services," Deputy City Attorney Ramona Sirianni said. "This will be a good fit for ACE to come in and provide these services."

ACE will enter a three-year, non-exclusive lease with the city for approximately 290 square feet of the airport inside the security-cleared zone. It will sell pre-packaged foods, beverages and may offer retail merchandise related to travel, such as pillows, mobile device charges, ear plugs, over-the-counter medications or souvenirs.

In exchange, the nonprofit will pay the city roughly $532 a month, which includes utilities, for a total of $6,380 a year. ACE will also be provided a rent credit of up to 50% of any improvements it makes to the airport space, not to exceed a maximum of $25,000.

Sirianni said the city had agreed to provide a monthly rent credit for ACE's first 12 months of operation "due to the start-up nature of the business."

Once the concession is up and making sales, ACE will pay the city 12% of its gross revenue generated plus any applicable state and local sales taxes. The city's agreement outlines that gross revenue is considered the total amount a customer is charged, after any discounts applied.

Hallstrand said the lease agreement's terms do not reflect any special treatment or favoritism to ACE. The 12% of all sales term is common among concessions in the airport industry.

"This gives us an opportunity to help them raise more money for their programs," she said.

The airport director said while there may be limited space for concessions at Lakeland Linder now, she expects that to grow, and this will give ACE an opportunity to establish itself first.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: ACE will launch Lakeland Linder's first retail shop for air passengers