Will Roanoke Regional Airport follow national trend by having area retailers sell signature products at its terminal?

by Jenny Kincaid Boone
Roanoke.com

Anne Boardley, general manager of the Hudson News store in the Roanoke Regional Airport, sells Virginia-related gifts.

From the Samuel Adams Pub at Boston's Logan International Airport to the Stock Car Racing Cafe at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, travelers can glance around an airport's terminals and quickly figure out where they've landed.

Many airports are trying to entice customers with sights and flavors that define a certain city or region, and they're doing it by pulling in more locally owned restaurants and retailers to sell the area's signature products.

However, when landing at the Roanoke Regional Airport, passengers probably would not know that this area has its own coffee producer, several wineries and restaurants that serve up Southern-style favorites—let alone a handbag maker whose wares have been props on television's "Desperate Housewives."

That's because the food and retail lineup at the Roanoke airport is generic. It is made up of two national airport retail companies, but neither offers local coffee, baked products or a large variety of merchandise sold by Roanoke Valley businesses.

Local retailers from Claire V to AmRhein Wine Cellars said they would welcome the opportunity to sell their products at the airport, but no one has asked.

At the same time, no Roanoke-area restaurants in the past have been interested in opening a hub at the airport, airport officials say.

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