Travelers can expect several new eateries and stores at Reagan National Airport later this year.
A travel supply store with “Just Walk Out” technology, a D.C.-based bookstore, a local burger restaurant, and Chinese food chain P.F. Chang’s are all planning to open at DCA at some point this year, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson Rob Yingling confirmed to ARLnow.
While a number of those businesses were announced last fall, many are now targeting a summer 2023 debut.
The Goods will be a traditional travel supply store located in Terminal 2 near the D gates, but what will make it unique is use of Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. Meaning, customers can exit the store without going through a checkout line because ceiling-mounted cameras and artificial intelligence track selections.
Locals might be familiar with this technology since it is also employed at the Crystal City Amazon Fresh.
Inside “The Goods” will be a “store-within-a-store,” D.C.-based Mahogany Books. The Black-owned independent bookstore has a popular location in Anacostia and the airport shop will be its first location outside of the District.
Mahogany Books will not employ the “Just Walk Out” tech but will have a more “traditional purchasing experience,” per Yingling.
Both The Goods and Mahogany Books inside are expected to start selling this summer.
Also moving into Terminal 2 and near the B gates will be Lucky Buns, a popular burger and chicken sandwich spot originally started in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. It’s run by celebrity chef Alex McCoy. The fast-casual spot, which now has several D.C. locations — as well as Baltimore and London outposts which have since closed — is expected to open this summer.
U.S.-based Chinese restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s, meanwhile, is moving into the new $400 million 14-gate concourse that opened in 2021, near the E gates. Despite a recent alcohol permit application, it remains unclear when that restaurant might open to the public.
“We are getting close to the opening of P.F. Chang’s at DCA but don’t have a date to announce yet,” Yingling said.
Over the last two years, DCA has welcomed a number of other popular and local eateries to the airport. Wolfgang Puck Bar + Bites, Peet’s Coffee, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, Timber Pizza Company, and Elevation Burger have all opened since 2021.