A local celebrity chef helps bring a sense of place to RDU airport’s Terminal 2

Five years ago, David Freedman approached Scott Crawford with a proposition.

Crawford is one of the Triangle’s best-known chefs and restaurateurs, with decades of experience creating menus and distinctive places to eat. Freedman is a senior vice president at Raleigh-Durham International Airport whose responsibilities include restaurants in the terminals.

Freedman wanted to know if Crawford would consider opening one at RDU. The idea hadn’t occurred to Crawford.

“I really didn’t expect to buy into his vision as much as I did,” he said. “After our conversation, I thought, ‘Yeah, this really is a great way to impact our community, to give a sense of place at the airport and elevate the food. He had a great vision.”

That vision is for RDU to feature local talent as much as possible. That means that along with Starbucks and Dunkin’, the airport offers coffee from Beyu Caffe and Black & White Coffee Roasters. It means Char-Grill and La Farm Bakery Cafe alongside national chains BurgerFi and Popeyes. Across from Vineyard Vines is locally owned Root & Branch featuring North Carolina gifts.

Freedman thought Crawford would be a good fit.

“We want to make sure that whether you’re living in our community and traveling out or you’re coming in for the first time that you get to see the best of our region,” he said. “And he’s definitely part of that.”

Crawford’s Genuine opened last week in a prominent spot in Terminal 2 just beyond the security checkpoints. The restaurant seats 95, including 20 at the full bar, and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus pastries, sandwiches and salads to go.

Menus include dishes for travelers who have only a half hour, such as a fried chicken sandwich or granola with yogurt, coconut and honey. For those with time to linger, there’s a roasted half chicken with creamy garlic rice and a grilled pork chop with cheese grits and mushroom cavatelli.

Crawford said he wanted the menu and the restaurant to have a sense of the region and be warm and inviting. About half of the seating is in a roofless area that feels like a patio or deck. Crawford wanted an oak tree in the space but had to settle for a tree-like structure.

“We agonized over these details,” he said.

Crawford’s partner in the venture is Grove Bay Hospitality, a Miami-based company that has experience running restaurants in airports. Grove Bay helped Crawford adapt to the time and space constraints and logistical challenges of operating in an airport, says Eddie Acevedo, the company’s chief operating officer.

Teaming up with a local chef and restaurateur is far more involved than simply plugging a national chain restaurant into the airport, Acevedo said.

“We spent a lot of time in the kitchens together, figuring things out, waking up early in the morning, exchanging ideas, emails, texts, constantly,” he said. “It’s a great process to go through. And we’ve only begun. We’re going to continue to evolve.”

More restaurants and bars to come

RDU is still working to replace eateries that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Crawford’s Geniuine, Grove Bay also recently opened Carolina Craft, a bar serving beer, cocktails, charcuterie boards and other small plates in Terminal 2.

Several others are expected to open in the coming months. Coming in Terminal 2:

▪ Adios!, a Mexican restaurant created by Oscar Diaz, a two-time James Beard semifinalist whose previous restaurants include Cortez and Jose & Sons in Raleigh and Little Bull in Durham.

▪ Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay, part of a growing chain of burger restaurants from the celebrity chef and Food Network star. RDU will be the second airport with a Bobby’s Burgers, after Phoenix International.

▪ Bongiorno & Son Italian Deli and Market, based on the Raleigh deli that Michael Bongiorno opened in 2020.

▪ Bond Brothers Taproom & Kitchen. The Cary-based brewery was open in the airport a short time in 2020 before the pandemic shut everything down.

▪ Conniption Cocktails & Cuisine, created for RDU by Durham Distillery and inspired by Corpse Reviver Bar & Lounge in Durham. In addition to cocktails, it will serve salads, flatbreads and bowls, as well as coffee and espresso drinks.

▪ Dunkin’, once known as Dunkin’ Donuts, the chain sought as much for its coffee as its round confections. RDU officials say they had received numerous requests for Dunkin’ over the years.

▪ Guy’s Pizza Joint selling pies from spiky-haired Food Network star Guy Fieri.

▪ Half-Moon Empanadas, a small, woman-owned chain started in Miami that serves Latin American street food.

▪ Lonerider, the Raleigh-based brewery and distillery, opened at RDU last fall, offering grab-and-go food, spirits and beer, including a new brew called Boots Up Ale sold only at RDU. Lonerider closed this summer for renovations and is expected to reopen as a full-service restaurant.

And in Terminal 1:

▪ Raleigh Beer Garden, an airport version of the Glenwood South institution, with 48 beers on tap and a menu that includes chicken and waffles, bratwurst and fish and chips.