New local restaurants coming to San Antonio airport

The latest: Locally owned restaurants Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery (Terminal B), Pharm Table (Terminal A), Freight Fried Chicken (Terminal A) and Tre Trattoria will have airport locations after the City Council approved contracts Thursday.

• New concepts Chef Johnny's Mercado, by lauded chef Johnny Hernandez, and Horseshoe Tequila Bar were also approved for Terminal A.
• Panda Express, a national chain, was also approved for Terminal A.

Between the lines: Chefs and city councilmembers emphasized that featuring local cuisine at the airport offers visitors a taste of the city's culture at our front door, citing San Antonio's recognition as one of only two UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy in the U.S.

• "We are going to take that City of Gastronomy designation to the airport so that when our visitors enter and leave they are reminded of our powerhouse of culture, food and puro San Antonio," Pharm Table owner and chef Elizabeth Johnson said.

Zoom out: The City Council also approved a plan to work with Atlanta-based Paradies Lagardère to bring in stores like Military City USA, iStore Express and Feliz Modern, all in Terminal B.

• Other new shops will have locally rooted names like Prickly Pear Provisions and Confluence Market.

What they're saying: "There won't be another terminal in the world that offers the flavor, diversity and elevated experience that will be in our terminal as a result of this incredible team that can't be described as anything other than an all-star cast of the best culinary talent in Texas," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said before approving the plan yesterday.