b'88 IND CONCESSIONSNew Concessions Option at Indianapolis Intl Showcases Hoosier-Grown Specialties BY NICOLE NELSONOver the course of 35 years inHis strategy is to focus on one of the FACTS&FIGURESairport leadership, Mario Rodriguezstates most prominent industries: agriculture. has repeatedly experienced theThe result is a public/private collaboration Project: Combination Retail & Food/Beveragetruthand stingof thethat brings an abundance of harvested Concessionphrase, No man is acrops and related products from Indiana into Focus: Agricultural products from Indiana prophet in his own land.the airport environment. In February, SSP Location: Indianapolis Intl Airport Time and again, theAmerica opened a new restaurant and retail Concourse: B community-centric leaderconcept in Concourse B called The Farmers Name: The Farmers Market Featuring has seen people take forMarket Featuring Indiana Grown. The Indiana Growngranted whats right in3,618-square-foot restaurant and storefront Size: 3,618 sq. ft. their own back yard. MARIO RODRIGUEZ supports Indiana Grown, an initiative of In his eighth year as executive director ofthe Indiana Department of Agriculture that Objective: Feature products raised & produced promotes more than 1,800 farms, growers by members of Indiana Grownthe Indianapolis Airport Authority, Rodriguez is working to turn that frustrating theme onand producers throughout the state. The new Debut: Feb. 2023 venture at IND offers a wide menu of foods Concessions Operator: SSP Americaits ear by championing a new concessionsand products raised, produced and packaged option at Indianapolis International Airport Partner: Indiana Grown, an initiative of the Indiana(IND) that features some of the best productsby more than 60 Indiana Grown members. Dept. of Agriculture Indiana has to offer. What I am trying to do is change the Distributor: Piazza Produce How do you make your communityparadigm and make sure that people Key Benefits: New concessions options forbetter if you dont use and showcase yourappreciate what they have, Rodriguez passengers; commercial support of state agriculturecommunitys services and products and thingsexplains. Obviously, it adds the economic initiative; opportunity to promote value of local farmsvalue that builds public value.& producers of that nature? Rodriguez asks rhetorically.May | June 2023AirportImprovement.com'