Sacramento’s airport is the site of a brand-new store concept for one of the world’s largest coffee chains.
Amid its major undertaking to refresh nearly two dozen restaurants and other concessions offerings, the Sacramento International Airport unveiled two new Starbucks locations, with a first-of-its-kind twist.
In Terminal A, both pre- and post-security, the iconic green-and-white mermaid will not only be a symbol for coffee, but also a host of marketplace items. The Sacramento airport and development partner HMSHost jointly launched the nation’s first-ever Starbucks cafe-and-market hybrid concept, according to an HMSHost spokesperson.
“This project has been years in the making through a close collaboration between HMSHost and the SMF airport team, and we’re incredibly excited to finally share it with travelers,” said Scott Birch, director of operations for HMSHost at the Sacramento International Airport, in an email.
A brand-new Starbucks location at Sacramento International Airport’s Terminal A includes an attached market, selling classic airport provisions and products from Sacramento-based small businesses. Camila Pedrosa cpedrosa@sacbee.com
The cafe’s attached market sells items familiar to frequent flyers — magazines, neck pillows and packaged snacks — as well as items local to Sacramento. The pre-security cafe features Sycamore Market, while the post-security location includes the Golden Grove Marketplace, operated by airport retail giant Hudson.
According to Birch, the airport’s stores have been successful in their first three months operating. Roughly 40% of cafe customers also make a marketplace purchase, he said. California-themed apparel items have performed particularly well, Birch said.
Though most of the items sold in the store are from major national and international brands, a section of the market is dedicated to small Sacramento-area businesses.
At the market’s “Shop Local” stand, travelers can bring home a piece of the capital city with chocolate bars from Ginger Elizabeth, honey gift sets from The Bee Box, snack-sized bags of sweet popcorn from Carmazzi Caramel Corn and more.
The Sacramento International Airport is approaching the end of its multi-year project revamping its concessions offerings. Many of its quick service and full service eateries were swapped out, with more than a dozen local Sacramento businesses opening in the capital city’s airport.
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Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.