Denver International Airport

Fresh eats at Denver International Airport

Food, ,

Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, the Denver Central Market has opened at Denver International Airport.

Denver Central Market is at Gate A6 at Denver International Airport. The gourmet market and food hall houses a variety of local restaurants, including several vendors from the city’s Larimer Street marketplace such as Vero Italian offering hand crafted pizzas, artisanal meats, cheeses and sandwiches by Culture Meat & Cheese and rotisserie chicken and fresh salads from SK Provisions.

Also in the Denver Central Market: Susi Rama, plus grab n’ go items, espresso drinks, a full bar and a common dining space equipped with charging stations.

Looks yummy, right?

(All photos courtesy Denver International Airport).

Denver Int’l Airport gets an on-site brewery and its own beer

Beer, , ,

Like beer? Or just a cool place to grab something to eat when you’re stuck at the airport?

There’s now a brew-pub restaurant at Denver International Airport (DEN) with its own on-site brewery.

The new venue is called Tom’s Urban Kitchen and Tivoli Brewery and its located at the Westin Denver International Airport, just off the airport’s outdoor plaza.

The brewery portion of the restaurant is franchised by the Denver-based Tivoli Brewing Company, which has roots reaching back to 1859.  At DEN, Tivoli will brew Jet Indian pale ale as an airport exclusive.

As a nice touch, students from Metropolitan State University of Denver who are pursuing degrees or certificates in brewery and brewpub operations will be working in the airport brewery.

While this is the first restaurant with a brewery at DEN airport, Tom’s Urban Kitchen and Tivoli Brewery is a well-known  brand wih four other locations, including Portland, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and Las Vegas.

“Colorado is a paradise for craft beer lovers, and we wanted this amazing, signature space within the Westin Denver International Airport to reflect the Colorado experience with a brewpub that offers exclusive homegrown beverages and a taste of local Denver fare,” said airport CEO Kim Day.

This DEN-brewed beer and brewery will no doubt be a great addition to the “Beer Flights” beer garden the airport hosts each September out on plaza between the Westin and south entrance to the Jeppesen Terminal. That event coincides with worldwide Oktoberfest celebrations and features some of Colorado’s top micro-breweries and brew masters.

Year-round, there are plenty of other places at DEN airport to grab a craft beer, including New  Belgium Hub, the Boulder Beer House Tap House and in many restaurants and bars, including Root Down.

Have a favorite place to drink beer at Denver International Airport? Let us know.

Miami Int’l Airport and the Miami Hound Machine

Animals, , , , , , ,

The ‘Miami Hound Machine’ – a team of therapy dogs – is coming to Miami International Airport.

Miami International Airport’s new therapy dog program, charmingly called the Miami Hound Machine, is making its debut today.

The team’s five volunteer K-9 Ambassadors – Abbey, Belle, Dash, Donovan and Pico – and their owners will be on site today with airport officials for a press conference. The pups will then go to work inside Concourse D, visting with passengers and being cute.

Members of the Miami Hound Machine are all certified therapy dogs from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and will be on duty in the MIA terminals during peak travel periods.

Therapy dogs at airports are a growing trend. So are the types of animals on the therapy dog teams – San Francisco International Airport’s Wag Brigade has a pig (Lulu); Denver International Airport’s CATS program (Canine Airport Therapy Sqaud) has a cat named Xeli, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) often has a small herd of miniature horses stop by.

Have you encountered a member of an animal therapy team at an airport? Thumbs up or down?

Puppets at LAX; an outdoor park at Denver Airport

Airports, Events, ,

Don’t be shy.

If you’re at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday or Wednesday, July 10 and 11, make your way to Terminal 4 (post-security) to see a performance by the LA-based Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

The shows will be at 11 am and noon each day and if you’ve got a ticket to any terminal at LAX it should get you through the security line at Terminal 4 as well.

 

For the summer, Denver International Airport has turned its 82,000 square-foot open-air plaza between the Jeppesen Terminal and the Westin Denver hotel into a Pop-Up Park with native Colorado trees and plants and 9,000 square feet of turf.

Passengers and locals are invited to hang out in the park, which has lawn games, lunchtime fitness classes, lounge seating and a variety of scheduled music events and activities. More details here.

 

Viral video shows dog owner ignoring her dog’s poop at Denver Airport

Pets, ,
Reno-Tahoe International Airport pet relief area

RNO airport pet relief area

Last week, my At the Airport column on USA TODAY discussed the challenge airports are having with all the animals – mainly dogs – passengers are bringing into the terminals. Some dogs are well-behaved; others not.

“We find them making messes on the airport carpet, interfering with the airport’s working dogs and, on occasion, biting other dogs or passengers,” said Kama Simonds, spokeswoman for Oregon’s Portland International Airport.

This week, PDX issued revised rules for animals in the airport  which include potential fines up for up to $250 for infractions such as letting your dog do its business on the floor and not cleaning it up.

Looks like Denver International Airport will have to consider adopting similar rules. This video of a woman chatting on the phone instead of cleaning up after her dog has gone viral, with folks on the Internet working together to ID her and shame her.

By the way, Denver International Airport has official dog relief areas in each concourse.