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]]>The deal netted Plummer and his partners at Concord Collective Partners eight separate food concessions at Los Angeles International Airport, and since then he has continued to expand. He has opened a proprietary concept called Betcha Burgers, and last week marked the soft opening of a Wetzel’s Pretzel location, all at LAX.
Starting in 2017, Plummer, a one-time concession manager at LAX Los Angeles International Airport, had run Enjoy Repeat, a certified Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise that had gradually acquired 25% ownership stakes in eight eateries at LAX operated by London-based airport concessions giant SSP Group. The eateries were mostly in Terminal 1 and included brand names such as Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Einstein’s Bagels and Peet’s Coffee.
Things might have stayed that way for years, but then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly, as global aviation came nearly to a halt, the eight eateries that Plummer operated were forced to shut down – initially a disaster for Plummer and the 100-plus employees under his management.
But then came the opportunity. The pandemic had slammed SSP Group and its U.S. operations hard. For the fiscal year ending in September 2020, SSP’s revenue plunged 49%, then another 42% for the year ending in September 2021 to the equivalent of $1.1 billion. For those two years combined, SSP posted operating losses totaling about $860 million and as of Sept. 30 of last year had racked up nearly $2 billion in debt, all according to an annual company filing.
With these mounting losses and debts, SSP was forced to divest operations it judged as destined to underperform, including the eight eateries at LAX. SSP still had time left on its leases at LAX but decided to exit those leases early.
“I learned in mid-2020 that SSP was looking to sell and so at that point I spoke up and said, ‘If you’re going to sell, can I have the opportunity to buy it instead of (you) going to a third party?’” Plummer said.
SSP agreed and so did the main retail developer and leasing manager at LAX, URW Airports, a division of Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
“We have a strong interest in seeing local principals who are (minority and women business enterprise) owners be directly involved at the airport and this was a way to do this on a major scale,” said Mike Salzman, executive vice president and group director for URW Airports.
But even with the agreement of SSP and URW, it took nearly a year to make the deal a reality. For starters, Plummer’s Enjoy Repeat didn’t have the capital.
So he decided to take on five equity partner companies. In an interview with the Business Journal, he declined to name those partner companies and would only say the amount they invested “was in the seven figures.” This new combined entity formed last April with a new name: Concord Collective Partners.
SSP also offered to sell its majority stake at a discount and then URW agreed to a “temporary lease abatement” for Concord Collective, according to Salzman. And, Salzman said, URW agreed to throw in some tenant improvements.
Neither Plummer nor Salzman would disclose how much Concord Collective Partner ultimately paid for the SSP concessions. SSP did note in its annual report filing for fiscal year 2021 that its North American “site exit costs” totaled 9 million pounds, or about $12.2 million.
When the deal closed in April 2021, it was viewed as a major milestone for certified minority business enterprises in the airport retail market.
“This is very significant,” said Andrew Weddig, executive director of the Airport Restaurant and Retail Association, a Chicago-based trade organization. “There’s not much, if any, precedence on this scale with a certified minority-owned business taking that large of a piece of a food and beverage business at a major airport.”
The deal was also welcomed by officials at Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs LAX.
“At Los Angeles World Airports we’re focused on creating more opportunities for small, local and disadvantaged businesses,” Justin Erbacci, LAWA’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Greg Plummer is a model for how we want to see our ACDBEs build their businesses at LAX and become prime concessioners – and help to bring in and mentor more ACDBEs.”
For Plummer, this new status is a long way from his career beginnings as a line manager at a single concession eatery operated by CMS Hospitality at LAX back in 2005. Eleven years later, CMS was bought by concession giant HMSHost Corp. of Bethesda, Md. That’s when Plummer left and formed Enjoy Repeat.
With his own company, Plummer sought to carry out his vision of becoming a major concession operator at LAX, with a mix of national brands and his own eatery concepts. Rather than bid on prime concession contracts, Plummer chose to acquire minority stakes in concessions held by prime contractors. That’s how he teamed up with SSP’s eight eateries at LAX, raising the capital necessary for the minority stakes from a “non-traditional lender focused on airport projects.”
As a minority stakeholder with SSP, Plummer said his role was to develop brand relationships and innovate new dining concepts. That’s when he came up with a proprietary dining concept called Betcha Burger, which he said was inspired by independent roadside burger stands that dotted the landscape several decades ago.
Since becoming a prime concession operator, Plummer has continued to innovate new dining concepts, having recently opened an eatery called Ace Cervecería & Tacos. (Cerveceria is Spanish for brewery.) And he has continued to open brand eateries, including a Wetzel’s Pretzels that opened earlier this month.
In a smaller scale repeat of last year, Plummer said he recently won the rights to three more airport dining establishments that had been held by another prime concession contractor that walked away early from its lease. He declined to identify the contractor or the eateries.
“This is a culmination of what I’ve always wanted to do ever since I started working at LAX in 2005,” Plummer said.
Looking ahead, Plummer said he plans to take advantage of more such opportunities as they come up at LAX.
According to association executive Weddig, he may not have long to wait.
“They are getting in at a good time,” Weddig said of Concord Collective Partners. “During the pandemic, many concession operators issued large amounts of debt to help stay afloat.”
He said some of these concession operators may decide to sell some of their restaurants, though he said he doesn’t expect anything as big as the SSP sale to come up anytime soon.
All this is bolstered by rising air passenger counts at LAX as air travel continues to rebound from the pandemic. That in turn means more passengers entering Concord Collective’s restaurants.
Not surprisingly, the biggest short and mid-term challenge is finding enough personnel to run the restaurants.
“We’re still working on modified hours and recruiting team members,” Plummer said. “We’re only at 75% of where we should be for hourly operations. We want to get up to a full-run level. Then we can get back to focusing on our end goal: We want to be the best eatery operator at LAX – not the biggest, but the best.”
Los Angeles-based Concord Collective recently acquired SSP America’s LAX business and has eight dining locations under its ownership, a mix of national brands and its own bespoke brands.
“To be a major business owner in one of the world’s largest and busiest airports is a dream come true,” Concord CEO & Managing Partner Greg Plummer said. “A lot of hard work and collaboration went into getting us to this point. Everyone recognised the significant opportunity at hand and came together to make it work. I am truly grateful.”
Concord Collective worked closely with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), LAX commercial developer and manager Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports (URW Airports) and SSP America to take over the business.
“Having diverse business owners is critical to creating the world-class experiences that today’s airport customers expect and demand,” said Christopher Adkins, URW’s Director of the Advance Network. “Understanding the barriers to entry these businesses face, we’re working together to bring more minority- and women-owned businesses into the airport. We’re inspired by Greg and his team and hope what we’re doing here at LAX can become a model for airports across the country.”
“At Los Angeles World Airports we’re focused on creating more opportunities for small, local and disadvantaged businesses,” said LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci. “Greg Plummer is a model for how we want to see our ACDBEs build their businesses at LAX and become prime concessioners – and help to bring in and mentor more ACDBEs. We want to congratulate Greg on his accomplishments and thank him for choosing to expand at our airport.”
ACDBE certification is a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) programme designed to level the playing field for small businesses who wish to participate in contracting opportunities at airports.
Certified firms must meet eligibility standards established by the USDOT including ownership of at least 51% by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals and management and daily business operations control by one or more of the socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who own it.
Plummer began his career as a restaurant manager at the airport, spending the next 12 years working his way up through minority-owned and operated CMS Hospitality before it was bought by HMSHost. In 2016, he left to start his own company, Enjoy Repeat, a certified ACDBE and minority joint venture (JV) partner of SSP America. When presented with the opportunity to take over SSP America’s LAX business, Plummer assembled a team of black and minority partners to form Concord Collective, a 100% ACDBE business. Concord Collective employs 140 people at the location.
“Unfortunately, the trend has been for larger prime operators to buy out smaller minority JV partners,” said Plummer. “We are charting a new course and are committed to helping launch more 100% minority-owned and operated businesses.”
A graduate of Morehouse College, Plummer also is an Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) member and AMAC Foundation Board Director.
Eboni Wimbush, AMAC President & CEO, said Plummer is an inspiration to the industry and to the next generation of women and minority entrepreneurs and small business owners.
“Greg is not just making history at LAX but he is inspiring all of us—from front line concessions workers to businesses partners, airport owners and operators across the country,” Wimbush said. “We all can learn from Greg and his exemplary ability to bring people together in partnership to benefit a community. LAWA and URW are changing business practices and paving a new path for a more inclusive and equitable future.”
The restaurants operated by Concord Collective include Panda Express, Einstein’s Bagels, Chick-fil-A, Ace Cervecería & Tacos and Betcha Burger in Terminal 1. Coming soon is a Qwench/Wetzel’s Pretzels concept. In Terminal 6, the company operates Peet’s Coffee.
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report has recently relaunched its FAB Newsletter. This regular newsletter features highlights of openings, events and campaigns from around the world of airport and travel dining.
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]]>One local minority-owned small business at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is making history. Concord Collective is the first 100-percent Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) business to successfully take over the entire portfolio of a major LAX food and beverage concession operator.
Los Angeles-based Concord Collective recently acquired SSP America’s LAX business and has eight dining locations now under its ownership featuring a curated mix of strong national brands and its own bespoke brands.
“To be a major business owner in one of the world’s largest and busiest airports is a dream come true,” Plummer said. “A lot of hard work and collaboration went into getting us to this point. Everyone recognized the significant opportunity at hand and came together to make it work. I am truly grateful.”
For this historic opportunity to come to fruition, Concord Collective worked closely with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), LAX commercial developer and manager Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports (URW Airports), and SSP America to take over the business, plan new brands and seamlessly serve LAX guests all during the global pandemic.
“Having diverse business owners is critical to creating the world-class experiences that today’s airport customers expect and demand,” said Christopher Adkins, URW’s Director of the Advance Network. “Understanding the barriers to entry these businesses face, we’re working together to bring more minority- and women-owned businesses into the airport. We’re inspired by Greg and his team and hope what we’re doing here at LAX can become a model for airports across the country.”
Justin Erbacci, CEO of LAWA, said he is excited to see history in the making but knows more needs to be done to increase diversity and achieve a true, authentic representation of Los Angeles at LAX.
“We’re working very hard to create more opportunities for small, local and disadvantaged businesses,” Erbacci said. “We need to look at the employees here to help us find our future ACDBE owners. The employees who are starting out now as workers and getting into the industry should be the next wave of small business operators.”
Plummer began his career on the front lines as a restaurant manager at LAX, spending the next 12 years working his way up through minority owned and operated CMS Hospitality before it was bought by HMSHost, a major prime concessions operator. In 2016, he left to start his own company, Enjoy Repeat, a certified Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) and minority JV partner of SSP America. When presented with the opportunity to take over SSP America’s LAX business, Plummer assembled a team of black and minority partners to form Concord Collective, a 100-percent ACDBE business.
“Unfortunately, the trend has been for larger prime operators to buy out smaller minority JV partners,” said Plummer. “We are charting a new course and are committed to helping launch more 100-percent minority owned and operated businesses.”
“Greg is a shining example of the goals of the federal ACDBE program, which include creating a level playing field for minority and women-owned enterprises to compete in the airport environment and growing their capacity to become prime operators on their own,” Erbacci said.
A graduate of Morehouse College, Plummer also is a Foundation Board of Director Member with the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC).
Eboni Wimbush, AMAC President & CEO, said Greg is an inspiration to the industry and to the next generation of women and minority entrepreneurs and small business owners.
“Greg is not just making history at LAX but he is inspiring all of us—from frontline concessions workers to businesses partners, airport owners, and operators across the country,” Wimbush said. “We all can learn from Greg and this exemplary ability to bring people together in partnership to benefit a community. LAWA and URW are changing how business is done and paving a new path for a more inclusive and equitable future.”
The new LAX restaurants operated by Concord Collective include Panda Express, Einstein’s Bagels, Chick-fil-A, and Betcha Burger, now open in Terminal 1; and coming soon Ace Cervecería & Tacos and Qwench/Wetzel’s Pretzels. In Terminal 6, the company operates Peet’s Coffee.
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