Less than one year after opening, Scotty Brown’s Airport Restaurant is expanding.
The Port of Bellingham’s Board of Commissioners approved a lease modification that adds 526 square feet to the restaurant and another 576 square feet at the airport for Scotty Browns office and storage.
“We are expanding due to the enormous success of the Restaurant in the terminal,” said Scotty Browns Manager Jason Cooper. “The airport has been a great addition to our restaurant brand, and has been well received by the Canadian public due to our association with Browns Restaurant Group.”
The Bellingham International Airport is in the midst of a $38 million terminal expansion and work is underway for the additional restaurant space. The restaurant expansion will be completed by the end of April.
Customers will experience a larger dining room and an additional seating area. The restaurant is located in the secure waiting area of the terminal. Because restaurant expansion construction is occurring behind a new wall in the terminal, customers will not see the new space until it is complete and construction will not impact daily operations, Cooper said.
“Scotty Browns has been an outstanding addition to our airport,” said Port Commission President Jim Jorgensen. “Travelers are really pleased to have a full-service, sit-down restaurant inside the airport – especially one with such great food and service.”
With the expansion, the restaurant will occupy nearly 2000 square feet, not including the new office and storage area. It presently provides seating for about 80 people and will provide additional seating for after the expansion. The business employs about 30 workers and has invested over $1.1 million in construction of its facilities.
Browns Socialhouse has been familiar to people in British Columbia since 2004 when the business opened its first restaurant in North Vancouver. Whatcom County got to experience their food in 2009, when they opened Scotty Browns at Barkley Village. The company now operates 14 restaurants in Canada, as well as the one Bellingham location.
The Bellingham International Airport is operated by the Port of Bellingham, a countywide independent local government charged with pursuing economic development, operating transportation terminals and being a steward of public lands and resources. The airport is served by four commercial airlines: Allegiant Air, Alaska Air, Horizon Air and Frontier Airlines. Together the airlines offer non-stop service to eleven different destinations.
The port also operates all Whatcom County transportation terminals including the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the Fairhaven Transportation Station (with Amtrak, Greyhound and Whatcom Transportation bus service) and marinas in Bellingham and Blaine.