And the hottest new airport dining destination in the country is…
NEWARK?!?!?
Yep. You heard that right. Thanks to a $120 million project between United and OTG Management, Terminal C at EWR is going to get a whole lot nicer. Over 55 new dining outlets will be available to travelers and once they all open, Newark will offer the largest collection of chef-driven restaurants anywhere in America. Four chefs with Michelin stars have signed on and the just-announced new restaurants are beyond impressive. From the press release:
Saison, a classic French bistro by Alain Ducasse; Vesper Tavern, a gastropub-style tavern by Paul Liebrandt; Riviera offering French country fare by Alex Guarnaschelli; Mario Carbone lending his take on classic Italian with an Italian steakhouse; and Josh Capon’s SRF Bar, featuring a surf bar and sushi oasis with a fresh catch every day are among the inspired dining offerings.
Food halls are being reinvented as a global bazaar of exciting culinary choices, with chefs hand- pulling fresh noodles at Kaedama, Shoushin Yanaura’s ramen bar; authentic Mexican street fare at Alex Stupak’s Taqa Taqueria; Nonna’s Meatball Cafe by Amanda Freitag; and hand-crafted treats at Jacques Torres’ Melange Bakery.
To make ordering even easier, OTG is installing 6,000 iPads to service flyers at 60 gates with on-screen ordering and flight information for all!
Are you kidding me? Now I want to go to Newark just to eat. Which new EWR eatery are you most excited about?
(Kathy from Will Run for Miles was at the event announcing all of this. If you’d like to read her first-hand account, click here.)
(Link to the press release here.)
I have experienced the new terminal 5 times in the last few weeks. It is a disaster. Ipads worked 1 in 5 visits. Waiters are numb to the ridiculous dining experience. Ipad user interface is awful and credit card scanners are all broken. Table space is unusable due to iPad mounts. Last straw for me was when iPad fell off its mount into a kind ladies’ drink. Liquor, ice and glass pieces everywhere. Waiter acted like it happens all the time. Get a clue United. The execution of this concept is a customer experience disaster.
Wow. That’s gnarly. Has anyone else had the same experience?