JFK Terminal 4 Welcomes Five Borough Food Hall

15-Dec-2016 | SSP News Release

Queens, New York – December 15, 2016 – In an effort to continue creating an extraordinary dining experience, a first-of-its-kind food truck eatery was unveiled today at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4. Developed and managed by SSP America, the exclusive food and beverage purveyor of Terminal 4 and a division of SSP Group, a leading operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations worldwide, the Five Borough Food experience showcases some of New York City’s most authentic cuisines.

The 3,528-square-foot restaurant offers travelers four separate and distinctly different food stations as well as a full service bar, Five Borough Food Hall is a celebration of the streets’ gastronomic landscape. A market scene of theatrical, open, interactive kitchens, housed in authentic vintage vehicles, Five Borough Food Hall offers guests unique dishes served hot off the griddle. Cart cuisines include Asian, Greek/Middle Eastern and Mexican as well as a fast casual pan-worldly sandwich shop.

SSP America sourced the vintage vehicles from California, where they were carefully restored and customized for the project over the course of ten months. The end result delivers an unexpected, authentic New York City street food scene that celebrates the essential ingredients of the urban experience. As a proprietary SSP America food concept, Five Borough Food Hall will change its menus and cuisines to meet market demands and current food trends.

Terminal 4 celebrated the restaurant’s grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony and food-sampling in the terminal’s retail hall. Many of the terminal’s 65,000 daily air travelers were able to enjoy the true taste of New York offered by the eatery.

Food Truck Cuisine:

• Mango Taco Truck: Housed in a 1987 Chevy Box Truck, Mango Taco Truck brings passengers a fast casual, build your own taco experience with all-natural, warm corn tortillas and fillings that include marinated steak, chili-rubbed chicken and cochinita — the traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork from the Yucatán.
• Global Sandwiches: Serving up wicked little witches from a fabricated 1956 International Harvester Metro, Global Sandwiches showcases sammies that span the planet, including chicken bánh mì, Genoa salami ficelle, turkey reubens and muffalettas.
• The Apothecary: Full service bar drinks are served up from a 1966 VW Bus at The Apothecary. Cleverly designed, the bus is “stretched” to hold the open bar counter in the middle and crowned with an awning accented by twinkling carnival lights.
• Dromos: Serving up über healthy, fresh-forward Mediterranean cuisine, Dromos brings overstuffed pitas, platters and salads filled with beef and lamb shawarma, tuvak/chicken, and falafel combined with signature fresh Mediterranean flavors of mint, parsley, lemon, cucumber and olive oil.
• Canal Street Noodle House: Canal Street brings tummy warming, build your own noodle dishes with broth bases of ginger beef and Thai chili and galangal Tom Yum. Guests can choose combinations that include garlic ginger shrimp, bulgogi steak, and fire grilled lemongrass chicken.
• Coffee Bar/Grab and Go: In addition, Five Borough Food Hall includes a Coffee Bar where passengers can grab a cup of freshly brewed hot java as well as a large grab and go chill case styled to look like a New York City subway stop and filled with fresh, prepackaged sandwiches, drinks and snacks.

“Terminal 4 already features an unparalleled selection of food and beverage offerings and we are proud to welcome this unique and interesting concept to our retail hall,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff, President and CEO of JFKIAT, LLC. – the management company which operates Terminal 4. “With Five Borough Food Hall, we are able to expand our culinary offerings to the 20 million annual travelers who pass through our doors – allowing us to continue to cater to many different types of appetites. We are grateful for our continued partnership with SSP America, which allows us to offer the best names and products in the world right here at Terminal 4.”

Michael Svagdis, Chief Executive Officer of SSP America comments, “JFK’s Terminal 4 is highly regarded as having one of the most authentic culinary portfolios of any terminal in the world and it is truly an honor to work with the wonderful IAT team. Our latest concept celebrates the authentic flavors of New York City with a superbly high-quality menu of fresh ingredients, but also offers passengers an engaging environment. We look forward to serving the passengers of T4 at this very cool new concept.”

Five Borough Food Hall joins more than 25 other restaurants in Terminal 4’s expansive retail hall, including Danny Meyers’ Blue Smoke on the Road, The Palm, Shake Shack, and a number of other unsurpassed restaurant concepts. As one of the world’s most modern and efficient air terminals, T4 provides travelers with a superior passenger experience. Over the past 5 years, the terminal’s retail space has been expanded to offer more than 122,200 square-feet devoted to shopping and dining including chic, upscale boutiques, convenience and gift stores, world-class eateries, well-known casual dining, healthy options, and food-to-go.