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That’s what we call ironclad<br />
When it came time to develop a new idea for an<br />
airport restaurant, <strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong> Companies<br />
Travel Hospitality Services had an idea: Team up<br />
with Masaharu Morimoto, a celebrity restaurateur<br />
and iron chef known the world over. The new<br />
restaurant concept, Skewers, features yakitori-style<br />
meals of skewered meat with vegetables, grilled or<br />
fried, and served with rice.<br />
“Everyone knows I love a challenge,” Morimoto<br />
said. “As soon as my name appears in airports, I<br />
know I’ll be counted on to deliver the quality food<br />
that all of my operations serve. With <strong>Delaware</strong><br />
<strong>North</strong> as my partner, I’m confident that I’ll rise<br />
to the occasion.”<br />
Channeling our creativity<br />
Why stop at one Food Network chef when you can<br />
have all of them? At least in a manner of speaking.<br />
As 2009 was drawing to a close, <strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong><br />
was shaking hands with Food Network to bring the<br />
brand to airports, sporting venues and attractions.<br />
The company now has an exclusive arrangement<br />
with the only television channel devoted entirely to<br />
food and cooking. Food Network reaches nearly<br />
100 million households throughout the world,<br />
and its website gets more hits than any other<br />
dealing with cooking.<br />
The news of Food Network joining <strong>Delaware</strong><br />
<strong>North</strong>’s portfolio of brands came shortly after<br />
an alliance with the Travel Channel aimed at<br />
developing a line of airport stores. The Travel<br />
Channel stores will boast travel-related products<br />
and merchandise for fans of the popular network.<br />
Travel Channel footage will run in the stores.<br />
Top-flight brands<br />
<strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong>’s travel hospitality business is<br />
also the driving force behind the development of<br />
Newark Liberty International Airport’s Heineken<br />
Lounge, the first of its kind. The bar is located<br />
in the same terminal that captured 2009’s best<br />
concessions program award from Airport Revenue News.<br />
A few months later, ForbesTraveler.com named<br />
the Heineken Lounge one of the best airport bars<br />
in the United States.<br />
Sometimes we are our own brands<br />
In addition to strong alliances with local, regional<br />
and national brands, <strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong> has a cadre<br />
of stellar brands that are proprietary. Among<br />
them are Gadgets 2 Go and Everything ASAP,<br />
two concepts that led seasoned travelers to name<br />
the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport as the one with<br />
the best retail offerings.<br />
Sportservice just did it<br />
<strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong> used its longtime relationship<br />
with Nike to develop and debut a new team store<br />
at Busch Stadium in time for the 2009 Major<br />
League Baseball All-Star Game. The Cardinals<br />
Team Store by Nike features exclusive merchandise<br />
from the well-known sports apparel brand, as well<br />
as MLB-licensed products. The grand opening<br />
included meet-and-greet sessions with former<br />
Cardinals greats Willie McGee, Lou Brock, Bob<br />
Gibson and Ozzie Smith. In addition to the new<br />
Nike team store, <strong>Delaware</strong> <strong>North</strong> developed a new<br />
in-stadium store called TOUCH by Alyssa Milano<br />
that showcases the popular actress’s clothing line<br />
for women who love sports.<br />
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