Coffee Company Expands with Indy Airport Café
(photo courtesy of Indianapolis International Airport)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Tinker Coffee Co. is celebrating the opening of its first café storefront at Indianapolis International Airport. The new coffee shop, located in Concourse B at the airport, is part of the Concessions Refresh initiative, which was designed to bring more local vendors to the airport. Co-founder Steve Hall says the café is the logical next phase for the company, which was founded in 2014 and had previously sold its products through its downtown Indianapolis roaster facility, as well as online and through select cafés, restaurants and businesses.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Hall said specialty coffee has seen growth in Indianapolis over the last few years.
“That certainly was a huge catalyst for our growth these last few years,” said Hall. “I think just our approach to coffee and our approach to hospitality has been really, really intentional and…so many people are just getting used to or getting an introduction to the world of specialty coffee and a bit more greater detail into what the supply chain of specialty coffee is like and the stories behind these farms that we’re able to work with. Sharing that story and that product with people in an airport setting is just a really cool opportunity.”
The nearly 900-square-foot location features many of Tinker’s signature beverages, as well as breakfast sandwiches and pastries. Hall says the move to feature more local brands says a lot about the airport’s commitment to the community.
“There’s confidence that these local brands have a product that can stand up, that can be done and executed extremely well with extremely high quality. You don’t have to rely on these massive multi-national corporations to produce a really exceptional product; you have a lot of great operators here locally that are doing really awesome things and can do it well. So, that spotlight on local brands like Tinker and others at the airport really awesome.”
Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, says featuring local companies like Tinker means “everything” as the airport works towards its mission of making the community better.
“What’s better than bringing in local organizations into the airport so that people experience their products and they have a lot of visibility?” said Rodriguez. “Pre-COVID, the airport had about 10 million passengers. So potentially…after COVID, we’re going to have 10 million passengers again one of these days when things start stabilizing again. So, it’s great to be able to offer that to our local community.”
Tinker Coffee is the latest new option to debut at the airport through the Concessions Refresh initiative. Last October, Sun King Brewing Co. opened a taproom at the airport, and national brands such as MAC Cosmetics and FAO Schwarz have opened new storefronts over the last couple of years.
Rodriguez says the rollout of Concessions Refresh has been slow, but is moving forward.
“Obviously, the pandemic has hit the hospitality industry particularly hard and hit the airport industry particularly hard, so we have much less passengers than we had before,” he said. “So, things are coming online as passengers are coming back.”
Tinker also has plans for more coffee shops in the future. The company will soon open a location at The Amp artisan marketplace at 16 Tech near downtown Indianapolis. Another airport café, located in Concourse A, is set to open in late summer or this fall as well.
Hall says specialty coffee has seen a lot of growth in Indianapolis over the last few years.