NORFOLK, Va. — There's a new spot for people traveling through Norfolk's airport to grab a bite and a drink before takeoff...and it's a familiar name.
The co-founders of Warriors Taphouse cut the ribbon on the Virginia Beach restaurant's Norfolk International Airport location on Tuesday inside the airport's Concourse A.
Founded in the Virginia Beach Red Mill area in 2018, Warriors is described as a "taphouse with a purpose."
"We started the Tap House to basically give back to our combat wounded, our veterans and their family members. And so that's what we've done from day one in 2018," said Dave Culler, co-founder and CEO of Warriors Taphouse.
The opening marks the latest local brand to arrive at ORF this year after Town Center Cold Pressed opened in the Concourse A expansion in April and Bruce Smith's 200 Sack Club opened in Concourse B in June.
“[The airport] wasn't something that we had as part of the vision. We knew potentially we wanted to expand the business so we could continue to support more of our veterans and their family members, but this seemed like an opportunity that we couldn't pass up and we won," Culler told News 3.
Last year, the airport announced a revamped concessions program with a focus on bringing in local brands as part of its $1 billion Transform ORF initiative. CEO Mark Perryman had told News 3 that a lack of concession options was one of the biggest complaints from people flying out of Norfolk.
Perryman told News 3 on Tuesday that the next openings should be in the coming months.
“This is the first of several local outlets that will open. We have, just down the way, Stockpot has started construction that will open up early next year. Over on Concourse B, we have Ghost Kitchen, one of the favorite food trucks around Norfolk," he said, adding that Ghost Kitchen could open as early as late fall.
Another local favorite, COVA Brewing Company of Ocean View, would be part of a second phase of the concessions revamp.
Other parts of the Transform ORF project are also moving forward. Last week, the airport announced it had completed a bond sale of more than $280 million to fund the expansion and renovation of its Departures terminal to include a consolidated ticketing counter and security checkpoint.
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