Dunkin’ and Guy Fieri, sure. But RDU emphasizes local food in its terminals
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- RDU expands dining with mix of national chains and local Triangle restaurants.
- MERA Corporation partners with Bongiorno & Son to bring deli to main terminal.
- Upcoming openings include Raleigh Beer Garden, Bond Brothers and Adios!.
It wasn’t Michael Bongiorno’s idea to open a branch of his North Raleigh deli, Bongiorno & Son, at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
“They actually approached us,” Bongiorno says. “They said, ‘Hey, we’re looking at something for the airport, would you be interested?’ I’m like, ‘Maybe. I don’t know.’”
“They” was the MERA Corporation, a Mexico-based company that provides concessions at RDU.
The airport has tried in recent years to attract Triangle-based restaurants, breweries and retail shops to give the airport more local flavor, and somehow MERA caught on to Bongiorno’s Italian deli in Lafayette Village. He describes the deli, which opened in early 2021, as an “authentic Northeastern Italian shop” that serves big sandwiches with cold cuts imported from Italy by way of New York on crispy bread.
After doing some research and talking to his lawyer, Bongiorno said yes to MERA.
“It was a long process,” he said. “We had to go through test runs and talking to people, tastings and all that stuff. And we made it.”
Bongiorno & Son is one of three restaurants that have opened recently in RDU’s main terminal. The others are national chains, Dunkin’ and Guy Fieri’s Pizza Joint.
They’re part of a wave of new bars and eateries that will continue this fall and early next year as RDU works to replace businesses that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airport’s concessionaires have attracted familiar national brands, such as Starbucks, Popeyes, BurgerFi and Jason’s Deli.
But at the urging of airport officials, they’ve also sought local offerings, such as Crawford’s Genuine, the first airport restaurant for Triangle celebrity chef Scott Crawford, which opened last fall in a prominent spot in Terminal 2.
Most of what’s expected to open this fall and winter will be airport versions of local institutions.
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.
▪ 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.
▪ 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 in the fall of 2023, offering grab-and-go food, spirits and beer, including a new brew called Boots Up Ale sold only at RDU. Lonerider closed last summer for renovations and is expected to reopen as a full-service restaurant.
And in Terminal 1:
- Puro Gusto, an Italian-inspired eatery with coffee, pastries, lunch, dinner and craft cocktails.
- Raleigh Beer Garden, an airport version of the Glenwood South institution, with more than 30 beers on tap and a full menu of bar food, snacks, sandwiches and salads.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM.
