In a letter dated March 27, Gene Roth, National Team Lead and Southern Region Compliance Specialist with the FAA, has approved the OHM contract. The city was granted approval because:
“The airport has stated that such an agreement is needed in part because the airport is requiring the current food and beverage concession locations to be completely reconfigured to accommodate a new food court design for the benefit of your travelers requiring a much larger than normal upfront investment by the concessionaire to reconfigure the space to the new design.”
Other reasons given were the airport’s BBB bond rating and uneven enplanement performance. The FAA also believed that there was adequate coverage because OHM is Airport Concessions Disadvantage Business Enterprise certified.