The tragic events of September 11 in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC are still on the minds of people around the world and in our industry. Concession operators, like so many other businesses, were faced with cancellations, closures, postponements and a public not ready for recreation and leisure activities.
Airports were certainly among the first to feel the effects, as air travel to and from the United States came to a complete halt. Airport concessionaires like NAC member Savvy Services at Orlando International Airport were forced to shut down operations. Savvy's director of operations Zachary Clark noted, "You plan and plan, but how do you adjust for this?"
Savvy, which normally operates 365 days a year, was closed from noon on Tuesday till Friday. "The economy had already given us a hit," noted Clark, "but we're down about 50 percent below that."
Savvy operates three concession areas at the airport. On September 11 employees were forced to evacuate so that bomb-sniffing dogs could search the airport. "It was a little scary, but we had a little time to plan and take vital information with us," explained Clark. For the next two days, Savvy management operated hour to hour, awaiting information from the airport, which in turn was awaiting information from the Federal Aviation Administration as to when air travel could resume.
September 11 was the opening morning of the Networld/Interop Trade Show & Convention at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta, with an expected attendance of 55,000. "Several firms exhibiting at the show had their home offices in the World Trade Center," explained Phil Noyes, president of MGR Food Service, GWCC's food & beverage concessionaire. "The show closed at 2 pm, canceling several large events as a result. Overall, attendance dropped to 15,000." Noyes further stated that several other weekend events were also cancelled, with a resulting loss in business exceeding $1 million. The Georgia Dome, home of the NFL Atlanta Falcons, is another MGR account, but no home games were affected by the cancellations.
Foodservice contractor Sportservice had events cancelled at all of their client facilities. Only one of their stadiums, however, had an NFL football game scheduled. "Our Monday through Wednesday schedule was unaffected," stated president Nick Biello. "When we received the news that the game was cancelled, we eliminated perishable deliveries and cancelled staff for the event."
This is a partial version of the complete story that appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Concessionworks, the newsletter for NAC members.
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