RDU opens new shops and eateries as its smaller terminal fills with passengers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Passenger growth fills Terminal 1 as five airlines join Southwest there.
- RDU overhauled Terminal 1 shops, emphasizing local brands and vendors.
- Terminal 1 expansion planned but on hold due to funding and runway project.
For a long time, Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport felt like an orphan. While Terminal 2 was thronged with passengers, its smaller counterpart on the far side of the parking deck was home to a single airline and often felt empty.
That has changed. As more people fly through RDU, five airlines have joined Southwest in Terminal 1, including Breeze Airways, the fastest-growing carrier in the Triangle.
The passenger growth that filled RDU’s main terminal is spilling over into Terminal 1, says Michael Landguth, RDU’s president and CEO.
“I think people are going to start to recognize that this terminal is going to fill up,” Landguth said in an interview. “It’s going to turn into Terminal 2 in terms of utilization.”
To serve those growing crowds, RDU has overhauled and expanded Terminal 1 shops and restaurants, something airport officials celebrated Thursday. And as in the larger Terminal 2, the airport and its concessionaires are emphasizing local brands and products.
Down the concourse from the airport’s only Char-Grill burger restaurant is 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.
Raleigh Beer Garden owner Niall Hanley said sales have been good since it opened two months ago.
“I do a lot of traveling, and RDU is an absolutely beautiful airport,” Hanley said in an interview. “The volume of business that’s coming through the airport is impressive to say the least. And for me it’s branding and awareness.”
Pam Blondin helped bring local gifts to RDU in 2019 when she helped open Root & Branch just inside the security checkpoint in Terminal 2. Now Blondin and Jessie Williams, a jewelry maker with two Edge of Urge shops in Raleigh and Wilmington, have done the same in Terminal 1 with a new shop called The District by Root & Branch.
Blondin, owner of the downtown Raleigh retailer Deco, said she and Williams are partners with WH Smith, a global travel retailer with a concession contract at RDU.
“What’s been the trick is demonstrating to the big corporation that not only does local make sense for the customer, it makes sense businesswise,” Blondin said in an interview. “And it has. And they will attest to that.”
Blondin and Williams work with Smith on four shops in Terminal 1, including Natalie’s Candy Jar and two stores that carry snacks, drinks and other items air travelers might want. While those shops would fit in any airport, Blondin said they’ve worked in some local products, including Cheerwine, Videri chocolates and nut butters and snack bars from Big Spoon Roasters in Durham.
“We’re trying to work at all levels to make sure North Carolina is well represented,” she said.
Also found in Terminal 1 is the sports-themed ACC American Cafe; Charlotte-based Mexican restaurant Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill; Italian-inspired Puro Gusto and two coffee shops, Starbucks and Durham-based Beyu Caffe.
RDU plans to expand Terminal 1 someday
Terminal 1 was once the busiest at RDU. While the former American Airlines hub was demolished and replaced by Terminal 2, airlines operated out of what was then known as Terminal A, which had as many as 23 gates. After Terminal 2 opened in 2008, all but nine of those gates were demolished.
RDU has plans to expand Terminal 1, quadrupling the size of the building and adding 14 gates. But those plans are on hold while the airport concentrates on more pressing projects, including building a new main runway, said Bill Sandifer, the airport’s chief development officer.
“It really is a reimagining of this building. And about a billion and a half dollars,” Sandifer said. “If we had the money, I’d be doing it now. If we started design today, you wouldn’t see a new gate for 5 to 7 years. It just takes so long.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 7:30 AM with the headline "RDU opens new shops and eateries as its smaller terminal fills with passengers."
