The Avalon Aeropub at Redmond Airport is closing Monday for a monthlong dining room makeover, Nicole Jurgensen, an airport spokeswoman, said Thursday.
The mezzanine-level upgrades will double the restaurant’s size and seating capacity and add some amenities, such as Oregon Video Lottery machines, Jurgensen said.
The work will not interrupt the movement of passengers to and from airport gates, she said. While the cafe is closed, the ground-floor Dancing River Cafe will have an expanded supply of sandwiches, salads, wraps and nonalcoholic drinks for sale.
The city of Redmond, which runs the airport, and the owner of Avalon Aeropub, Dan Brawn, are sharing the renovation costs, Jurgensen said. Brawn said Thursday he’s shouldering the cost to improve the dining area; the city will help pay for a kitchen upgrade in May, when the airport is closed temporarily for runway improvements. He declined to say what the dining-area work will cost.
Russell Anderson Contracting, of Bend, is doing the work. The cafe is scheduled to reopen around Feb. 1, according to the airport.
Other contractors include LB Engineering Inc.; Curtis Restaurant Equipment, which provided equipment and design services; and Element Design Co., which also provided design services, Brawn said. All three companies are based in Bend.
“Upgrades will include a state-of-the-art beer and wine dispensing system, granite tabletops, family-friendly booth seating and multiple, high-definition television monitors,” according to an airport news release Thursday.
Brawn said he agreed to make improvements to the restaurant when he purchased the food and beverage concession a couple of years ago. The mezzanine area, located beyond the security checkpoint, is often overlooked by travelers, he said.
“We’re going to give our customers a first-class experience in every way,” he said Thursday. “A lot of people don’t know that we’re up there on the mezzanine level. We need to educate people to see their gate and then come upstairs. That’s a challenge we have at the airport.”
The improvements come as the airport is seeing an increased number of travelers passing through its gates. In July, 58,360 passengers came through the airport, a one-month record.
Four carriers serve the airport: United, Delta, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines.
Airport Business Manager Zachary Bass, in the news release, said, “We are very excited to offer our growing customer base expanded options at the Redmond Airport. Some travelers have yet to discover the great food and beverage options on our mezzanine level.”
Source: http://www.bendbulletin.com
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