Aug 16, 2018

Chicago O’Hare and Airport Partners Bring Popular New Dining Choices to Travelers

HMSHost opens second location of the award-winning Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi and a new Starbucks in Terminal 1-C

CHICAGO (August 16, 2018) – The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), global restaurateur HMSHost, and Bowa Construction, the first African American-owned prime concessions construction contractor, participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the acclaimed Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi, and global favorite, Starbucks. The new project, located on Concourse C at O’Hare International Airport, is a testament to the City of Chicago’s goal of increasing inclusion of small, diverse Chicago businesses, like Bowa Construction, in O’Hare’s current and future modernization projects.

“We are thrilled to welcome the second installation of our award-winning Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi and to enhance food offerings for O’Hare this summer,” said CDA Commissioner Jamie L. Rhee. “These upscale new locations at Terminal 1 will enhance the customer experience for millions of passengers from all around the world. I want to thank our partners at HMSHost, Bowa Construction, and United Airlines for working with us to deliver the high quality dining experience that travelers can count on when they come to O’Hare.”

Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi along with the new Starbucks provide passengers with an oasis right in the gate hold area. The open concourse dining experience offers travelers more than 200 seats and plenty of charging stations so passengers can relax and keep an eye on their gate while enjoying elegantly presented fresh seafood and sushi. As an all-time passenger favorite and ranked as a top dining destination at O’Hare, Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi brings a refined culinary experience to the airport. Passengers will enjoy an enticing menu of made-to-order sushi that is created and rolled with precision by highly trained sushi chefs.

The original Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in Terminal 2 received top industry awards for innovative restaurant design, unique use of space, and was honored as part of USA Today’s top 10Best Airport Sit Down Dining concepts. Along with specialty rolls, traditional miso soup, and a variety of health-forward choices from Nigiri and Sashimi to Asian-inspired salads, the new Wicker Park, like the original restaurant, offers a full-service bar, where guests can enjoy sake, and an extensive selection of wine, beer and specialty cocktails such as a Ginger Lemongrass Cooler and a Umai Mary – a unique take on travelers favorite Bloody Mary featuring kimchi cucumber.

“We thank the Chicago Department of Aviation for partnering with us to bring O’Hare travelers award-winning restaurants that exceed diner’s expectations. We’re honored to work with our local partner, Nosa Ehimwenman and Bowa Construction, on innovative design and construction elements that further enhance the traveler experience,” said HMSHost President & CEO Steve Johnson. “Since HMSHost opened the first Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in 2010, it has been a dining choice O’Hare travelers have actively sought out. The overwhelming positive feedback we receive about Wicker Park made it an obvious choice for an additional location.”

Bowa Construction led the three month construction of the newest Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi and Starbucks. Founded by Nosa Ehimwenman, Bowa Construction is a general contractor and construction management firm based in Chicago’s South Side. It is a city-certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and a newly appointed U.S. Department of Transportation Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program participant. Bowa Wicker Park Sushi & Seafood and Starbucks Opens at Chicago O’Hare Construction has worked with HMSHost and the CDA to bring forward new concessions options at O’Hare in recent years, including the recent completion of another Starbucks in Terminal 2.

“Partnering with CDA and HMSHost has been an exciting opportunity and journey for Bowa,” said Ehimwenman. “The credit and success for these two exciting projects must go to the entire Bowa team for their hard work and dedication to excellence. I would like to thank CDA and HMSHost for their support and we look forward to a continued partnership on developing new projects for Chicago’s airports.”

These new dining options enhance the restaurant offerings in Terminal 1, and build on the effort by the airport and its partners to bring passengers fresh, new, and popular choices as O’Hare expands and modernizes. Through its partnership with CDA, HMSHost provides award-winning food and drink curated for O’Hare travelers, with top restaurants including Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless, Publican Tavern, Summer House Santa Monica by Lettuce Entertain You, and Stefani’s Tuscany Café, among others, to help Chicago remain a worldclass travel hub. A complete list of food and beverage locations at O’Hare is available on flychicago.com.

- - -

About Chicago Department of Aviation
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) is self-supporting, using no local or state tax dollars for operations or capital improvements at O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Chicago’s airports offer service to over 260 nonstop destinations worldwide, including 47 foreign countries, combined. Together, Chicago’s airports serve more than 100 million passengers each year, and generate approximately $60 billion in annual economic activity for the region.

The CDA is currently overseeing two major capital infrastructure programs at O’Hare and Midway International Airports – O’Hare 21 and the Midway Modernization Program. As these programs prepare O'Hare and Midway to take off with added capacity and modern infrastructure, they will also create new jobs and opportunities for businesses of all sizes and specialties over the next decade. Please visit www.flychicago.com to learn more about the Chicago Department of Aviation.

HMSHost Leading the Industry
HMSHost is recognized by the industry as the top provider of travel dining with awards such as 2018 Best Overall Food & Beverage Operator (for the eleventh consecutive year) by Airport Revenue News. USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards recognized HMSHost’s Summer House Santa Monica at Chicago O’Hare International Airport as Best Airport Bar / Restaurant Atmosphere. HMSHost is a leader in sustainability practices which include plans to eliminate conventional plastic straw use by 2020. The company also creates original award-winning events like Airport Restaurant Month, Channel Your Inner Chef live culinary contest, and the Adrian Awards Gold winning campaigns, #HMSHostLove and Eat Well. Travel Further.

About HMSHost
Global restaurateur HMSHost is a world leader in creating dining for travel venues. HMSHost operates in more than 120 airports around the globe and at more than 100 travel plazas in North America. The company has annual sales of nearly $3.3 billion and employs more than 41,000 associates worldwide. HMSHost is a part of Autogrill Group, the world’s leading provider of food & beverage services for people on the move. With sales of €4.6 billion in 2017, the group operates in 31 countries and employs over 58,000 people. It manages approximately 4,000 stores in about 1,000 locations worldwide. Visit HMSHost.com for more information and connect with HMSHost on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Bowa Construction
Bowa Construction is a family-owned and operated General Contractor and Construction Management firm that was established on the core principles of discipline, integrity and excellence. Bowa Construction consists of highly trained construction professionals, collectively, with more than 50 years of general contracting, construction management and design/build experience. With a team of over 35 construction professionals, Bowa has worked and completed more than $300 million worth of work in the past 5 years. Bowa builds projects with passion and is driven by the anticipation of the impact it will have on our communities for years to come. Visit BowaConstruction.com and stay up to date with our projects on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

###