And the most popular Nashville airport concessions are...
Each person who visited Nashville International Airport in 2022, on average, spent $13.75 on food, beverages and other concessions.
Sales at BNA restaurants, bars, and gift shops soared last year - the airport's busiest year yet. In 2019, the average traveler spent $11, according to airport officials.
Metro Nashville Airport Authority members have overseen rapid growth since COVID-19 travel impacts waned.
"We're ahead on revenues and we underspent on most of our expenses," BNA CEO Doug Kreulen told board members this month. "We're so far above projections. We went from 18.4 million passengers last year to 21 million and it just continues. I don't think another airport will match us."
The airport could reach 35 million-annual passengers by 2032 if growth continues at the 7% rate it did from 2010 to 2019, according to an evaluation by MNAA staff and Paslay Group. If growth slows to 3%, that number would be reached in 2042.
Construction is underway on several major redevelopments throughout the airport campus. In January, the new lobby was revealed with a bridge connecting the terminal with three new parking garages.
A new terminal marketplace and international arrivals facility will be unveiled in the terminal in September. Outside, a satellite concourse and the airport's first hotel will also open.
The most popular concessions: honky-tonks and coffee shops
Food and beverage sales accounted for 63% while alcohol represented 22% of revenue in 2022, according to airport officials.
Restaurant sales-per-month, on average, in 2022:
Tootsies: $676,900
– Ole Red $558,500
– Southern Steak $402,000
– Pyramids $386,500
– Puckett’s $364,400
Coffee shop sales-per-month, on average, in 2022:
Starbucks: $244,600
8th & Roast, two locations: $224,500 and $210,800
Bongo Java $176,700
Barista Parlor $172,600
Kijiji Coffee, two locations: $108,200 and $43,400
Green Beans $100,600
News, gifts, and retail shop sales-per-month, on average, in 2022:
Tennessee Trading Post $644,400
Evolve $537,800
West End News $456,400
District News $453,200
True to Tennessee $310,100
Sixty-eight new restaurants, bars and shops were opened by airport concessions manager Fraport Tennessee since regular air travel resumed.
Another 15 vendors will open at a new terminal marketplace in September.
"The marketplace will have a center core with a common seating area and greenery," Fraport Tennessee Vice President Matt Jennings. "You can sit in these restaurants and look out at the airfield."
More than 60% of vendors are established locally and more than 40% are owned by women and minorities. Local brands coming to BNA include Smashville, the Titans, Slim and Husky's pizzeria, Hattie B's hot chicken and ACME Feed & Seed.
"We're setting a new benchmark with this amount of local activity and presence," Jennings said. "We're going to have 85 new units when we're finished."
Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How much are Nashville airport visitors spending on food and drinks?
