New Trio, El Mirasol restaurants could be part of airport vendor revamp

Two popular Palm Springs restaurants soon could be joining the dining lineup at Palm Springs International Airport.

The city council is set to approve new agreements on Monday with two concessionaires who will oversee an overhaul of the airport's dining and shopping offerings.

Paradies Lagardére, the concessionaire the council will vote on contracting with to handle food at the airport, has submitted a proposal to the city that lists Trio Restaurant and El Mirasol Cocina Mexicana among the seven restaurants and food vendors it would bring to the airport, all of which will be accessible only after security.

The airport Trio location would share nearly 2,000 square feet of space in the Sonny Bono Concourse with a planned empanada kiosk. The full-service Trio restaurant and bar would have 54 seats while there would be 39 additional seats for the empanada stand. Trio has operated on Palm Canyon Drive since 2009 and serves an upscale menu focused on steaks, pasta, pizzas and burgers. The proposal did not state if the menu would be the same as at the main restaurant.

The El Mirasol Cocina Mexicana restaurant is slated to open in a portion of the main terminal that would only be accessible to travelers who have passed through security. The restaurant would share space with a cafe that will serve coffee from Coachella Valley Coffee, a roaster in North Palm Springs. The combined 6,000-square-foot space will have 106 seats. The Coachella Valley Coffee portion of the space will serve breakfast and lunch items, including salads and sandwiches, in addition to coffee drinks.

Those new restaurants are slated to be joined by two other new restaurants that do not already have locations in the Coachella Valley.

New wine and beer bars planned

Nine Cities Craft is a proposed 2,000-square-foot restaurant and bar in the airport's regional concourse that will serve beer from Coachella Valley-based breweries along with salads, flatbreads and other lunch and dinner fare. The bar also will serve wine and cocktails.

Vino Volo, meanwhile, is a chain that operates wine bars and restaurants with accompanying wine shops at airports across the country, including LAX and John Wayne International Airport in Orange County. It will occupy 2,500 square feet in the airport's courtyard and have 64 seats.

Buzz by Barfly, an existing restaurant that currently serves a food menu focused on salads, soups, sandwiches and flatbreads, would remain in its current 2,000-square-foot location, according to the proposal.

Last June, the airport issued a request for proposals for concessionaires to operate concessions and retail stores at the airport. The airport said at the time that it was hoping to add more local offerings to its food and shopping lineup and that preference in the selection process would be given to concessionaires that could incorporate more local offerings into their planned mix.

Two concessionaires submitted a proposal to oversee and manage the airport's dining options while three submitted proposals to oversee retail (one concessionaire submitted proposals for both retail and food). The council will vote Monday on whether to award the food and drink concessionaire contract to Paradies Lagardére, an American company that operates stores and retail at over 100 airports. Paradies Lagardére currently manages both food and retail at the airport.

New shops to feature more local items

The retail contract, meanwhile, is set to be awarded to Marshall Retail Group, a company that currently oversees retail at 46 airports as well as resorts and casinos. Unlike on the food side, Marshall Retail Group's proposal does not call for any stores that exist elsewhere in the Coachella Valley to open an airport location. However, it does suggest there will be more of a local flavor than currently exists in the airport's shops thanks to plans to stock some of the stores with merchandise from local artists and businesses.

The largest of the planned stores is called Mojave Oasis and would take up 2,200 square feet in the Sonny Bono Concourse. It will stock a mix of reading materials and other typical airport convenience items along with golf apparel and clothing from such Palm Springs retailers as Thick as Thieves and Trina Turk. There also will be jewelry and merchandise from Coachella Valley attractions, including The Living Desert and the Palm Springs Farmer's Market.

The second large store will be called Uptown, in a nod to the area of Palm Springs, and stock a mix of travel convenience items and souvenirs and art and other items from local artists and community institutions, such as the Palm Springs Art Museum and TKB Bakery and Deli in Indio. It will be located in the Regional Concourse.

The many PSP travelers bound for Canada will also likely be excited about a planned duty-free cart, which will stock makeup, wine, tobacco and gourmet food items. A vending machine that will sell food, drinks and basic wellness items is also planned for the Bono concourse in an area that will include a new custom art piece from Santa Monica artist Peter Tigler.

All of the planned dining options will only be accessible after travelers pass through security. A report written by Interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan explains that since more intensive security became required at airports following the 9/11 attacks, most travelers have shown a preference for accessing shopping and dining after security rather than before it.

However, the airport does continue to have a bar, which is currently shuttered, in the main terminal before security. The report states that a plan has not been made for that space but the city will likely offer it to one of the two concessionaires.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: TRIO, El Mirasol restaurants slated for Palm Springs airport in revamp