There will be a greater emphasis on the food offering at BrewDog’s planned airport sites, MCA has learnt.
Speaking on the back of yesterday’s announcement that the Scottish brewer and bar operator had teamed up with TRG in an exclusive franchise partnership, David McDowall, managing director of its bars division told MCA, that the successful launch of the brunch offering at its bars would form a key part of what it will do within airport locations. BrewDog will also be offering breakfast options for the first time.
“Food will be a chunky part of what we do,” said McDowall, particularly with respect to the all-day trading aspect. However, craft beer is still the main focus. “Most importantly for us it’s about killer craft beer into the hands of people in the airport, which is difficult at the moment, but I think there is a huge opportunity to shake up the experience of going to a bar or pub in an airport.”
The new franchise partnership with TRG Concessions will see BrewDog open bars in UK airports and railway stations, with eyes already on the first three airport sites, said McDowall, adding that there had been no major developments in terms of the railway location opportunities.
The bars will have the familiar look and feel of BrewDog craft beer bars including a range of BrewDog brewed beers and rotating guest beers from around the world.
“Airports have been an ambition of ours for a while, so we are delighted to find a partner who can help us execute that,” said McDowall. “It’s early doors, but we’re really excited to see what the pipeline looks like over the next few years in airports, and also in other transport hubs.
“We are looking at a broad range of UK locations; obviously the Scottish airports are of interest to us, but we are looking throughout the UK,” he added. “We are also exploring airport opportunities outside the UK with other partners,” said McDowall.
