KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's been over one month since the new Kansas City International Airport opened, and the excitement is still there for passengers. One of the big draws might just be the concessions it has to offer.
At Meat Mitch, which is located in Concourse A, business has been great, but overwhelming. There are a lot of changes to adapt to when it comes to opening an airport space versus a standalone store.
"The airport is a unique animal in that it comes in different patterns we’re not accustomed to," said Mitch Benjamin, the founder and name behind Meat Mitch. "You may feel like it's slow and then look up and there’s 200 people that are all of a sudden hungry and ready to eat."
Benjamin says the different patterns just means that the restaurant has to create some different strategies.
"We just need to be able to adapt that, have a smaller menu, be able to execute faster so we can get fliers on the door and onto planes," Benjamin said, especially with the time crunch travelers have.
Mickey Cunningham is the manager of Meat Mitch at KCI. In his opinion, the spot is one of the most popular in the airport. He said the area sees about 2,500 people per day. That number's only going to grow with the NFL Draft coming to town and summer travel, estimating somewhere around 4,500 people.
Cunningham said one of the bigger issues he's seen is staffing, but not for the reasons one may think.
"Everyone wants to work in this restaurant, this particular restaurant, but we have to, kinda, like, work between two restaurants, share our people with other people at other restaurants," he said.
Regardless of the ups-and-downs, Benjamin said it's worth it, not only because of it's success alone, but because it drives people to go to his Leawood, Kansas, location.
"For me being a smaller brand, or a young brand, it’s been great just to get the awareness out there, and not only do people dine here but they come see me at 95th and Mission in Leawood," he said.
