Caribbean cuisine & foodways

[get these nets]

02/11/26

 

[get these nets]

02/04/26

JFKIAT Celebrates the Opening of Two New Local Businesses

Villa Russo Café and Brooklyn Tea & Market represent the first wave of partnerships that HMSHost has formed with selected local businesses.

metroairportnews.com

Your expansion into JFK Airport is a major milestone. Can you take us behind the scenes of how that opportunity unfolded and what restaurants should know about navigating airport concessions?


Our path to JFK truly felt serendipitous. A fellow small business owner, whom we affectionately call a “business cousin,” invited us to attend an Airport Concessionaires Information Session at a community college in Queens. It was similar to a job fair, but instead of job seekers, the room was filled with small businesses and representatives from the large operators that run airport concessions. While most attendees headed to the main hall for a formal presentation, we felt compelled to stay behind and speak with one additional representative. That conversation became the turning point. That was when we quickly discovered that the book we were reading at the time, “Unreasonable Hospitality,” was also a favorite of the representative from HMSHost, one of the world’s largest concession operators. That shared language around service, intention, and care immediately created a connection.


At the time, HMSHost was seeking locally owned businesses to represent each borough as part of a new “local for local” concept launching in JFK Terminal 4. Our name, our commitment to building a values-driven company, and the simple coincidence of reading the right book at the right moment helped us stand out among hundreds of businesses vying for attention.


A few months later, we received an email offering us a licensing deal for the Brooklyn Tea and Market concept. We are excited because this month, that journey comes full circle with a ribbon cutting at JFK, marking a milestone that began with a conversation, curiosity, and the willingness to stay in the room just a little longer.


When entering the licensing deal with HMSHost at JFK, what truly makes a licensing deal a good one for a local business, and what should you look for when choosing a licensing deal?


We chose a licensing deal because it offered the lowest barrier to entry into a highly complex and capital-intensive environment. Airports operate very differently from traditional retail, and licensing allowed us to enter the space without overextending our team or balance sheet before fully understanding those dynamics. The structure is similar to a franchise agreement, where HMSHost’s operational expertise, infrastructure, and airport-specific systems pair with our brand positioning, hospitality standards, and high-quality product. That division of responsibility was critical. HMSHost manages the operational execution, compliance, staffing, and logistics, while we remain focused on protecting the integrity of the Brooklyn Tea brand, the guest experience, and the product itself. Financially, the model made sense. Airport buildouts and ongoing operating costs are significant, and as a small business, it was important for us to share both the costs and the risk. Licensing allowed us to participate in a major opportunity while maintaining financial discipline and long-term sustainability. We view this deal as an entry point rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. As we continue to grow and gain more experience in airport retail, we may pursue different partnership structures in the future. But for our first airport location, licensing was the right fit because it balanced access, operational support, and risk in a way that allowed us to grow responsibly.