Denver Restaurants Aim to Elevate Airport Cuisine

Many travelers frown when considering airport dining options. Chef Justin Cucci aims to change this way of thinking in Denver.

“Our goal is simple: to change the perception from being just an airport restaurant to a restaurant located in the airport,” says Cucci. Root Down DIAA 4,000-square-foot restaurant at Denver International Airport that can seat 150 people. “We want to create an experience so immersive that for a moment you forget you’re even at the airport and enjoy an extraordinary meal.”

Cucci is the chef and founder of the employee-owned Edible Beats Restaurant Group. That group operates five Denver restaurants, including Root Down, the farm-to-table namesake of the airport restaurant on 33rd Street. He was born and raised in Manhattan and dropped out of college to run his family’s New York restaurant, Waverly Inn, before moving to Denver in 2008.

Root Down DIA at Denver International “features all the hallmarks of the original concept but is tailored for travelers: fresh, vibrant cuisine that is globally inspired and locally sourced, with an emphasis on organic and responsibly sourced ingredients,” says Cucci. “We worked hard to bring the same collaborative, creative energy that defines our restaurants to an unexpected location: an airport terminal.”

The menu includes many unique items, including more appetizers than entrees and nearly 17 different beers. Appetizers include Korean barbecue duck wings and grilled arepa cheese (corn cake, mozzarella, smoked gouda, poblano pistachio pesto, achiote crema and pico de gallo). In addition to vegetarian risotto, appetizers include burgers and sandwiches, including Colorado lamb sliders and a banh mi turkey burger.

Cucci says airport restaurants now expect quality, creativity and “even some of the fine dining magic they can get at a city restaurant.” Airports are becoming a new frontier for culinary experimentation, he says, adding: “It’s exciting to see chefs and restaurateurs rising to the challenge.”

Denver International has a number of fine dining restaurants, including the Mercantile and two Elway restaurants, named after former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mercantile offers dishes like pan-seared diver scallops for $43.43 and a 28-ounce dry-aged strip steak for two for $148.48.

Elway’s menu in concourse B includes a 16-ounce prime fillet steak for $78 and Vancouver Island salmon for $46. Elway’s Taproom & Grill in concourse A offers salmon for the same price and a 20-ounce boneless ribeye steak for $86. For lunch, burgers cost $25 or $26.

Running a successful restaurant in an airport presents many unique challenges.

“Running a restaurant at an airport like DIA is a completely different animal compared to our downtown locations,” Cucci explains. “One of the most immediate and ongoing challenges is logistics; everything entering the airport has to go through TSA-style screening. It adds layers of complexity and time that you can’t handle at a street-level restaurant. You’re coordinating deliveries, making sure ingredients arrive fresh, and making sure they’re cleared through security—all on top of that.” “In doing so, you maintain the same high standards of quality and sustainability.”

Another unique challenge is time.

“The clock is always ticking at the airport,” Cucci explains. “People are often in a rush to catch a flight or have a quick meal during their layover. We have to design our kitchen operations and menu to balance speed and quality. We want guests to have a great experience, but we also know they don’t have time to keep up with the pace of traditional fine dining. That’s why we modernize without sacrificing creativity or content integrity. Not to mention the complete unpredictability of airport traffic. Staffing and meal preparation need to be flexible enough to cope with these unpredictable fluctuations in business levels.”

Cucci says the challenges of running a profitable operation have been so great that some fine dining restaurants in U.S. airports have been forced to close over the past decade.

“Eating well at the airport is a challenging balance, a constant push and pull between maintaining the high standards associated with the experience while adapting to the logistical realities of the airport environment,” he explains. “The economy can be tough. High rents, rapid turnover and unpredictable foot traffic mean some concepts are struggling to stay profitable, especially in an environment where many restaurant customers are looking for something quick and convenient.”

Cucci says the closing restaurants do not indicate a lack of demand for increased dining experiences at airports.

“It’s more about finding the right formula,” he says. “The challenge is to adapt fine dining principles to meet travelers’ time constraints and expectations while keeping costs sustainable. I think what we’re seeing now is a reimagining of fine dining in airports; concepts that focus on quality ingredients and creative, chef-driven menus, but are a little more approachable and flexible.”