The Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Awards are among the most prestigious international awards programmes in the airport retail industry, attracting entrants from airports, concessionaires, and brands around the world to make their bid for recognition across more than a dozen categories.
Cater Care Retail recently learned that we’ve had the honour of being shortlisted as finalists in the FAB Awards Restaurant Design of the Year category thanks to our Installation in Sydney International Airport. In light of this recognition, we thought we’d take the time to explore the story behind this homegrown contribution to the airport community and the expert design that’s led to us being earmarked as finalists.
The form
Cater Care Retail’s Installation was designed to capture the allure of travel by bringing three vastly different flavours and cultures within a stone’s throw of one another. The crispy grilled chicken tenders of Portugal, rich chillies and chipotles of Mexico, and crunchy sand-filled chips of seaside Sydney are meals typically enjoyed thousands upon thousands of kilometres apart. Thanks to Cater Care Retail’s efforts to expand the options available to the Sydney Airport community, these can all be enjoyed within the International Terminal.
The choice of three of Australia’s favourite quick-service restaurants isn’t an incidental one either. The sun, surf, and sand of Bondi Beach are part of the foundation of Sydney’s culture. Oporto and Betty’s Burgers were both born on the beach, with Betty’s first stepping onto Noosa’s sands in 2014, and Oporto setting up on Bondi’s shores in 1986. Mad Mex was a later arrival to Sydney’s seaside suburbs, bringing a fresh taste of Baja Mexico to shake up the fast-service restaurant scene.
The visual design of the Installation serves to invoke the stories of these three varied brands and weave them into a single cohesive style. Oporto’s origins on the nearby Bondi Beach are reflected in the same warm wood panelling the original beach house shared – an idea echoed years later in the casual seafront aesthetic of Betty’s unique but consistent “shack” design. The theme concludes with the balanced, neutral, and modern approach of Mad Mex’s aesthetics that break up the similarities of the two burger joints and helps the Installation blend in with the airport around it.
The function
Of course, all the industrial design in the world wouldn’t mean anything without a well-built restaurant with solid design and an appealing value proposition to back it up.
The Installation marks the first step into the airport retail space for the Betty’s Burgers brand. This unique selling point serves as the foot in the door to attract wandering guests who are still perusing their options. From there, guests are drawn in by the Installation’s unique blend of three vastly different flavours beneath a single roof, a varied menu of radically different offerings, and Cater Care Retail’s signature service with a smile.
All three seating sections of the Installation seamlessly combine to form a dining area seating more than ninety guests. The combination of a large seating capacity and wide open spaces provide ample room for travellers to relax and say their goodbyes before heading through security. This setup allows it to be one of the larger designated dining areas in the airport – all without impeding the flow of traffic.
In the event of an emergency, the Installation boasts access to state-of-the-art safety measures. The emergency lighting of all three restaurants are linked with the airport to keep people calm and moving in the event of a power loss, and all kitchens include upgraded fire suppression systems integrated with Sydney Airport’s Fire Indicator Panel. Guests remain protected during day-to-day operations as well, with all food prepared in accordance with Cater Care’s strict Food Safety Policy and ISO compliance requirements.
The operator
Cater Care Retail is an industry leader in providing contract catering and beverage services for airports and industries across Australia. We’re proud to own a number of installations like these that share the same level of careful design and planning in airports across the Eastern Seaboard, and we’re honoured that FAB have recognised the work and dedication of our teams by nominating us as finalists for their Airport Design of the Year Award.
Rob Rutter
Chief Operating Officer – Retail
Ph: 0424 190 565
rob.rutter@catercare.com.au
