Casual Dining Group creates two new brands for new Jersey Airport contract

The Casual Dining Group (CDG) is to create two new brands in its portfolio after landing the contract to run all food and beverage concessions at Jersey Airport.

Brasserie Forty Five, and Bar Forty Five, will be created especially for the airport by the operator, whose other brands include Bella Italia, Café Rouge, and Las Iguanas.

After winning the contract in a competitive tender process by Ports of Jersey, CDG will now invest £1m in five air and landside outlets at the airport – which sees 1.5 million passenger movements every year ‒ ahead of the contract beginning on 1 March.

This will comprise three Rapide Kitchens (one airside, one on landside departures, and one on landside arrivals), as well as one each of the two new Forty Five brands.

The European-style Brasserie will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a table service format, while the Bar will offer a “range of fresh flavours in food and drink”, according to CDG. There will also be seasonal summer pop-ups presenting Jersey-sourced local produce, including oysters, crab, black butter, and Liberation Brewery beer.

The concessions contract at Jersey was previously held by Autogrill for 34 years, and was put out to tender last year.

The move comes as part of CDG’s stated plans to expand its concession presence in airports. It currently operates five restaurants at London Heathrow, a Rapide grab-and-go at Inverness, and is set to open Bella Italia and Oriel Grande Brasserie at London Luton early this year.

Mark Nelson, CDG’s managing director of concessions and franchising, said: “This is quite a coup, and shows our determination to take our strong all-day restaurant brands into new locations, and to expand the CDG concession presence in airports.”

On behalf of Ports of Jersey, chief executive Doug Bannister said: “Having a progressive and experienced operator for our food and beverage concession will bring new experiences and offerings as part of our overall customer journey experience.”