Niven Patel and Ro Patel aren't brothers by blood, but they consider themselves as such.
They've known each other since Ro's time at Ciro's Speakeasy & Supper Club in Tampa, where the duo hit it off right away. A year after Ro opened Anise Global Gastrobar with Kevin and Xuan Hurt at downtown's SkyPoint building, he and Niven (who owned Skypoint's retail spaces at the time) connected again — this time, Niven was Ro's new landlord.
The pair's latest point of intersection is Pangea Concessions Group, the young venture they've poured their food and drink passions into since reconnecting during Tampa International Airport's concessions bid last year. Remember when all those restaurants were vying for space at TIA? That's where the idea for Pangea (as in, the ancient supercontinent) stemmed from.
Mise en Place's Maryann Ferenc asked Ro to consult on her group's TIA bid, while Niven teamed up with Midfield Concessions, a smaller player compared to competitors like Delaware North and HMS Host, on a pitch with Piquant, Bar Louie and others.
Though Niven said his biggest heartbreak after losing was that his friends, Piquant owners Rosana Rivera and Ricardo Castro, couldn't get in, he doesn't consider the bid a defeat.
"It was just so great learning about this process in my backyard instead of having to travel," Niven said. "Not only that, but I got to meet so many local people I never knew that embodied Tampa, and it was just beautiful."
And that loss led to a win.
Through Pangea, which the Patels formed in August 2015, Niven and Ro partnered again with Midfield Concessions to outbid a handful of companies for the largest bid Denver International Airport (DIA) has ever handed out. With the experience Ro gained from helping launch the Clubhouse at Heathrow Airport and Niven's background in the hotel business, the pair are set to bring their "Old World Service, New World Concepts" to one of the country's biggest airports.
The DIA process was a lot quicker than Tampa's — three or four months. But the interview was intense.
During their 45-minute presentation, the Patels worked with their licensees — Roasting Plant, Tivoli Brewing Company and sibling restaurants Smashburger and Tom's Urban — to stage food presentations for the airport's appointed board of close to 10 people. Like contestants on a cooking show, they served board members full menus from each concept, everything from coffee to burgers to cocktails to boozy milkshakes, and watched for their reactions, good or bad.
"There was at least two [companies] before us, and if they're [still] eating our food after like seven courses, it's a good thing," Ro said.
New York-based Roasting Plant, with its innovative method for brewing coffee, is headed inside DIA, as are two locations from Denver’s popular fast-casual chain Smashburger, which operates internationally. (One Smashburger outpost will occupy two levels and overlook the runway.) Other established Denver brands Tivoli, Colorado’s oldest brewery, and the eccentric Tom’s Urban are planned for the Westin hotel connected to the airport.
The space up for bid at the Westin really piqued Ro and Niven's interest. Here, they'll introduce another cool component: an interactive beer education program at Tivoli, allowing college students or interns to serve as brewers and take courses. The brewery already works closely with Metropolitan State University of Denver's Brewing Program.
According to Ro, the TIA and DIA concessions initiatives were similar in that both examined the way people are starting to travel and what airport-goers are looking for.
"They wanted that experiential service for their guests," he said of Denver. "They stop calling them passengers and they start calling them guests, and that's a big thing when you start thinking like that. From the minute they check in, it's like that journey begins for them there."
The duo's emotions were kept in check until the winning bid was announced. Having a "you win some, you lose some" mentality helped.
"When I got the call it was unreal," Niven said. "For us, we're just small guys in Tampa."
They're excited to get the ball rolling at DIA. They've enjoyed the process so far — the collaboration, the in-person meetings, the conference calls.
"We had a lot of fun going through this thing… At the end of it, what was really cool about this whole team, from the licensees to Midfield and to everyone else who's involved in it, we finished, we went to Tom’s Urban and just had some food. And the intensity kind of just — we're just happy to still talk to each other and hang out," Ro added.
They hope to debut Smashburger in late December, with construction kicking off in September. In 2017, Tom's Urban and Tivoli could see a mid-to-late-January opening.
Niven and Ro note that Denver and Cigar City share one key attitude: they're both big proponents of local talent. Now Pangea is looking into expanding its airport concessions business to three more cities with strong local scenes. The pair was mum about specifics, but said it involves extensive research (a.k.a. eating and drinking, a lot).
They would love a second crack at TIA someday and aim to add Tampa-based concepts such as Piquant, Ichicoro Ramen and Cigar City Brewing (which they haven't talked to… yet) to future bids — including bids in other cities.
"It's our home. We love the city, so we want to take local Tampa brands to the other airports," Niven said. "We'd love to see Tampa brands represented because we have so much talent here."
"Quality, yeah," Ro continued.
"It needs to be showcased," Niven said.
This article appears in Jul 14-21, 2016.