National restaurant chains Chick-fil-A and Chili’s are set to open inside Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field next year, airport officials said Tuesday.
The proposed additions, pending final approval Feb. 21 from the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission, come as part of ongoing efforts to renovate the airport’s concourse.
“Travelers will be able to enjoy four major national brands, which isn’t typical for an airport of our size,” the commission’s chairman Jim Dailey said in a news release.
As a result of the changes, Quizno’s Sub will close its location in the concourse food court to make room for Chick-fil-A, airport spokesman Shane Carter told Arkansas Online.
Chili’s will replace Ouachita Landing, offering full-service dining and to-go options next to Gate 6, one of the airport’s “common-use” gates.
The new restaurants are set to open in the first quarter of 2018, according to the release.
Plans also call for Whole Hog Barbecue to relocate its food-court operations to River Bend Grill, where both will function alongside each other just outside the security checkpoint, Carter said.
Three other eateries in the concourse area — Burger King, Starbucks and Great American Bagels — will be remodeled, the release states.
Two new retail options are also part of the concourse renovation that will be operated by Hudson Group and Newborns Management Group.
Carter noted that River Bend Book Store, located across from Gate 5, will close as a result.
Work on the $20.6 million concourse renovation began last year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
The project includes the installation of about 800 new seats throughout the concourse, new carpeting and the acquisition of five jet bridges, according to the newspaper.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.