Charlotte airport expands food, coffee and drink choices. Here’s what’s on the way

Additional coffee shops are arriving soon at Charlotte Douglas International Airport just as more people are traveling following coronavirus pandemic shutdowns.

One of the most popular coffee and doughnut chains in the world, Dunkin’, will open its first location later this year at the airport with two stores debuting in former Starbucks spots.

A local company, Counter Culture Coffee, also is stirring up the coffee mix. It will be served at Commonspace, which will be a coffee bar in the morning and cocktail bar by night. Commonspace expected to open in the spring.

Airport food and beverage partner HMSHost said it saw a need to expand and diversify its offerings of well-known and local brands.

The new food and beverage options represent a “great mix of choices” for travelers, HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Stephen Douglas said in a statement to the Observer.

But Starbucks fans need not worry.

Although four locations are listed online as temporarily closed, there are still at least six locations throughout the airport.

Dunkin’ on the run

Dunkin’ will open its first CLT airport location in December next to Tequileria in the Atrium near concourse C, HMSHost told the Observer.

A second Dunkin’ will open in the spring on concourse E, according to HMSHost.

The airport tweeted about more construction at the airport on Monday with photos of signs for Dunkin’ coming soon.

Founded over 70 years ago in Quincy, Massachusetts, Dunkin’ has more than 12,600 restaurants in 40 countries, according to the company website. Dunkin’ is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. The company rebranded from Dunkin’ Donuts to just Dunkin’ three years ago.

The first Dunkin’ Donuts in Charlotte opened in 2004, according to Observer reports.

Coffee and cocktails at Commonspace

HMSHost did not disclose the location for Commospace in the airport.

Specialty coffees and breakfast items will be served there in the morning, followed by cocktails and local brews in the afternoon and evenings.

More places to eat and drink

Dunkin’ and Commonspace aren’t the only new food businesses at the airport.

Summer House Santa Monica, a full-service, California-inspired restaurant serving dishes with local and seasonal ingredients recently opened in Concourse B, HMSHost said. Along with a menu including fish, sushi and burgers are baked goods, plus a to-go counter for carryout.

Other new concessions planned at CLT are:

▪ Charlotte-based Sycamore Brewing

▪ Gameway (provides gaming stations while waiting for your flight)

▪ Uptown Exchange (news and gifts)

▪ PDQ (serves chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches and fresh salads)

No opening dates were available for these four operations.

Airport traffic

The new food and beverage concessions are likely to see more customers as airport traffic rebounds from the pandemic.

Passenger traffic at the Charlotte airport took a deep dive in early 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit North Carolina.

But in recent months, passengers have returned to air travel in nearly pre-pandemic levels. In May, more than 2 million passengers boarded planes at CLT for the first month since January 2020.

And in June, the most recent month of passenger data available, more than 2.11 million people boarded planes at Charlotte’s airport — a big increase from 783,600 people in June 2020, according to CLT numbers.

And June’s total in 2021 was not far off from the total number of passengers boarding planes at CLT the same month in 2019 — before the coronavirus pandemic.

In June 2019, 2.16 million people boarded planes at CLT, according to the airport.