"Daytona Beach airport food court now open as other upgrades continue"

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Airport food court now open as other upgrades continue 
By EMMET KELLY 
The Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal


DAYTONA BEACH -- A new food court, bigger meeting space and an enlarged
security screening area are "in the wings" at Daytona Beach International
Airport.

"These new facilities will contribute to greater convenience and more
customer satisfaction here at the airport," said Steve Cooke, DBIA's
director of business development. "And these renovations will serve to
increase our customer base at the airport as well."

The food court, which opened in November, has a Buckhead Grill and a Subway
sandwich shop operated by MSE Branded Food Services.

Pete Wenzell, a corporate spokesman for MSE Branded Foods, said, "Our
outlook for the future of the Buckhead Grill and Subway outlet at DBIA is
very bright."

MSE specializes in food service within facilities, such as airports,
hospitals, resorts and shopping malls.

"With the increasing customer traffic DBIA is now experiencing, not to
mention the potential for much greater customer flow as more airlines are
attracted to DBIA, we anticipate an increasing growth period for Buckhead
Grill and Subway," Wenzell said.

"Although historical trends indicate some seasonal shifts in business, we
expect to do well all months of the year because as the tourist traffic
slows, the business traveler usually steps in to help out in the slower
months," he said.

Wenzell also gave a thumbnail history of MSE Branded Foods, parent company
to DBIA's Buckhead Grill & Subway eatery, which officially opened in
November.

Jack Hough, MSE president, founded the company in 1987 as Main Street
Eatery. In 1992, Hough's company evolved into a branded consolidated food
court concept. MSE is based in Gainesville, Ga., and operates nationwide
with locations ranging from Miami to Boston.

Buckhead Grill is a signature brand of MSE. Subway, of course, is a national
franchise. The company also operates Chick-fil-As, Burger Kings, Pizza Huts
and other national brands in its food courts.

The previous food service operator, Jerry's Catering, had long complained it
couldn't make money at the airport and pulled out, Cooke said. The county
took over the food and beverage as concessionaire for a while, but as
customer traffic increased "we knew we needed a permanent, quality food and
beverage arrangement, not a stopgap."

"We put out requests for business proposals from other food service
companies," he said. "MSE Branded Foods offered us the best competitive bid,
which is how we successfully acquired the Buckhead Grill and Subway
concession."

MSE has a 10-year contract for the airport, Cooke said.

"Jerry's food service operation was like 1960s-1970s cafeteria cooking, with
prefrozen food and prefrozen coffee just out of the can," said Joe Colombo,
MSE's food and beverage director at DBIA. "At Buckhead Grill and Subway
Shop, we offer a blend of a nationally recognized branded concept, Subway,
and our own signature brand. We provide a full cooked-to-order breakfast,
grilled burgers and flame-grilled chicken sandwiches as well as other dinner
entrees."

The airport's meeting space, the Volusia Room, also is being expanded to
accommodate up to 200 people, Cooke said. It will be in a different area of
the airport.

The Volusia Room will continue to be available to any civic group, club or
informal gathering in the community.

"We have a second kitchen, apart from the Buckhead Grill's kitchen, to
handle the catering and banquet needs for any meeting that is booked for the
Volusia Room," Columbo said.

MSE also has renamed the airport bar to JJ's Sports Grill.

The food court is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. It has 25 employees, but with
the expansion of the Volusia Room, could increase by five to eight people.

The space left by moving the Volusia Room is being used for a more
passenger-friendly security-screening area, according to Cooke. "The revised
DBIA security-clearance facility offers a lot more space and convenience
than the old safety-facility, in keeping with DBIA's ongoing push for
improved customer service."

The additions and expansions should be completed in February, he said.


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