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Not many people know the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Sunport as well as Lenny Fresquez, who puts in about 7,000 steps walking the airport every day.

鈥淪ometimes I wonder how many miles I have on that brick over 30 years,鈥� he said.

Lenny Fresquez is the founder of Fresquez Companies, a food-service organization that has operated more than 270 restaurants since 1976. Today, the companies operate 22 restaurants in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado 鈥� many of which are at the Sunport.

Under the Fresquez umbrella is Fresquez Concessions, one of the Sunport鈥檚 longest-standing food operators of 30 years. The partnership has yielded more than just walking steps. Last year alone, Fresquez Concessions served 297,077 local beers, made 233,236 tortillas and prepared 8,825 pounds of chopped green chile at the Sunport, a company fact sheet said.

Fresquez Concessions operates 80% of the airport鈥檚 dining offerings, which have significantly expanded in the last several years. The expansion is a result of the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Dream of Flight initiative 鈥� a roughly $90 million effort to rejuvenate the Sunport with new dining, retail and infrastructure improvements.

The city issued a request for proposals, or RFP, for its food and beverage concessions program in 2023, seeking bids from airport operators to create and bring 15 new 鈥� and primarily local 鈥� food, coffee and beverage concepts into the terminal.

鈥淲e wanted to make sure that when a passenger lands in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, they know they鈥檙e in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 or New Mexico,鈥� said Gary Gilliard, deputy director of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Aviation Department. 鈥淲e wanted it to be authentic, so we did not want Shake Shack, McDonald鈥檚 and Burger Kings everywhere. We wanted something unique.鈥�

鈥榃e can do a better job鈥�

Fresquez Concessions was one of several bidders who submitted a proposal for the Sunport鈥檚 dining revamp. 鈥淢aster concessioners鈥� and billion-dollar companies from across the globe also made bids, Lenny Fresquez said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we were up against,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we had to show how we can do a better job.鈥�

The operator did so with a proposal that boasted a unique lineup of New Mexico business concepts, including Cheese & Coffee, Burque Brews, Rush of Prana by Annapurna鈥檚 and Flavor of NM by Tia鈥檚.

The city accepted Fresquez Concessions鈥� proposal, which Gilliard said 鈥渄efinitely hit the ball out of the park鈥� with 10 of its 13 proposed restaurants concepts being local.

鈥淲e鈥檙e keeping the money here,鈥� Lenny Fresquez said.

The company鈥檚 proposal also emphasized homemade, high-quality food.

鈥淲e really take pride in the freshness of each product,鈥� said Fresquez Companies President LeeAnna Fresquez, the founder鈥檚 daughter, as she pointed out the homemade cherry Pop-Tarts, breakfast burritos, sandwiches and biscochitos that travelers can find at the Sunport鈥檚 Fresquez-operated businesses.

With everything from healthy elote snack packs to award-winning green chile vodka and pints of chile that come with TSA-approved, insulated travel bags, LeeAnna Fresquez said the company鈥檚 mix of Sunport offerings is 鈥渁 wonderful representation of what our unique culture is.鈥�

Even the national brands 鈥� Panda Express, Buffalo Wild Wings and Dunkin鈥� 鈥� were selected on similar values and the flexibility to allow for some local customization, LeeAnna Fresquez said. The Dunkin鈥� space, for example, features a colorful mural of the Sandia Mountains surrounded by doughnut-themed hot air balloons.

The most recent Fresquez-operated restaurants to make their Sunport debut are New Mexico Pi帽on Coffee, Steel Bender Brewyard and Sadie鈥檚 of New Mexico, the last of which opened roughly one month ago.

Fresquez鈥檚 ability to secure businesses like Sadie鈥檚, paired with its existing partnerships and deep local knowledge, is a big part of the reason the city decided to task the operator with leading the project.

鈥�(This) required not just shaking their hand and going to Sadie鈥檚 and saying, 鈥楥ome on in,鈥欌�� Gilliard said. 鈥淚t required them to value engineer the street operation of a company like Sadie鈥檚 into how it鈥檚 going to work at the airport.鈥�

LeeAnna Fresquez鈥檚 pitch to businesses like Sadie鈥檚 outlined the exposure an airport operation would bring to the restaurant. But the alignment of both businesses鈥� desire to invest in the local community sealed the deal, she said.

From Arby鈥檚 to accolades

Securing deals isn鈥檛 new to Lenny Fresquez, who became the first Hispanic Arby鈥檚 franchisee at 23 years old. He and his wife, Linda, opened 15 Arby鈥檚 restaurants in nine years before selling them in the early 鈥�90s. Mac鈥檚 Steak in the Rough and Village Inn are among the restaurants currently in the company鈥檚 brick-and-mortar portfolio.

The family got into the concession business through its involvement with the New Mexico State Fair, selling food and beverages at the annual event for 15 years. Airport concessions are now a staple for the operator, which also has eateries at the El Paso International Airport and Denver International Airport.

About half of Fresquez鈥檚 business takes place at the Sunport. Fresquez Concessions鈥� portion of the Dream of Flight renovation project is expected to wrap up this fall with the opening of two more businesses, Taos Peaks and Buffalo Wild Wings Go. Fresquez鈥檚 investment in the project will surpass $16 million by that time, Lenny Fresquez said.

The number of restaurants the company delivered in under two years is 鈥渦nprecedented,鈥� LeeAnna Fresquez said. Even during heavy construction, Fresquez Companies managed to grow its revenue per passenger by 9% from 2024 to 2025, a company fact sheet said.

As the Sunport transformation takes shape, LeeAnna Fresquez said she can already sense employee morale climbing. Gilliard said the Sunport's concessions program is now employing twice as many people as it was before the renovation project.

Fresquez Companies鈥� role in the Sunport improvement has been recognized by Airport Experience News, or AXN 鈥� an airport industry professionals organization.

This year, Fresquez Concessions and two of its business operations 鈥� Teller Bar at the Sunport and Flavor of NM at El Paso International Airport 鈥� have been nominated in three categories: Best Local Concessions Management Team, Best Bar Experience and Best Quick-Service Restaurant Concept. AXN will announce the winners on Wednesday.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud,鈥� Gilliard said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e not done yet.鈥�

Dream of Flight鈥檚 last round of projects include a Frank鈥檚 Famous Chicken & Waffles and Laguna Burger slated to open this spring. North Carolina-based operator Tailwind Concessions is responsible for those restaurants. A brand new observation deck will also be completed in summer 2027. When all is complete, 鈥渢here鈥檚 not an airport that鈥檚 going to be as nice,鈥� Lenny Fresquez said.

Last year, the Sunport was ranked the No. 7 best airport in the U.S. by the Washington Post, which wrote that 鈥渇ew airports embody their location more than the Sunport.鈥� It scored among airports in Portland, Oregon; Long Beach, California; and Washington, D.C., based on survey results from thousands of readers, hundreds of thousands of Yelp reviews and other data.

Champion of the first impression

Sunport leadership and the Fresquez family hope the upgrades will not only improve the Sunport鈥檚 traveler experience 鈥� and possibly move the Sunport鈥檚 future ranking closer to No. 1, Gilliard said 鈥� but also communicate a story about New Mexico that makes people want to return and further support the local economy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an important vehicle for the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� Gilliard said. 鈥淭he airport is the champion for that first impression, and also the feel for what people want to enjoy when they come here.鈥�

Improved tourism numbers and more direct flights are among Gilliard鈥檚 hopes and expectations for the project鈥檚 impact. He also hopes the refresh inspires entrepreneurs throughout the city to invest in their businesses and prepare for the increased traffic the Dream of Flight project could bring 鈥� a trend he said has occurred in cities like Denver and Nashville.

鈥淲e are running this airport on today and tomorrow, so that as the economic improvement comes, we are ready and able to deliver,鈥� Gilliard said. 鈥淲e want people to know sa国际传媒官网网页入口. We want people to know New Mexico like they've never known it before.鈥�

The state鈥檚 diversity and hospitality are what Lenny Fresquez and LeeAnna Fresquez hope people take away from their experiences at the Sunport and with Fresquez Concessions.

鈥淣ew Mexico has been very good to us,鈥� Lenny Fresquez said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to give back and that means a lot to our family.鈥�

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.