LAX's new ghost kitchen service Breeze is up and running. Here's how it works.
A pilot program called Fly With Breeze, or just Breeze, that makes creative use of a "ghost kitchen" – a cooking space used only to prepare food for delivery – is underway in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Breeze doesn't have a traditional physical presence in the terminal. Instead, it offers a menu of healthy food items that can only be ordered online, via an app, the LAX Shop & Dine site or via text and then delivered to a pick-up kiosk.
Currently, travelers in most terminals have the option to pre-order and pre-pay for meals from one or more nearby food vendors, including Barney's Beanery (T2) and Wahoo's Fish Tao (T6) through the LAX Shop & Dine website, and then just swing by, skip the lines, and pick up their order.
The Breeze test program adds a new food menu and a new ordering option in Terminal 2. If successful, it may be a game changer for hungry travelers and allow airports to easily and quickly expand meal services.
How Breeze works
Once an order is placed, the food and drinks are prepared in a ghost kitchen inside an existing kitchen in the terminal and then delivered to central kiosk on the T2 dining terrace. Passenger can swing by and pick up their orders within minutes of ordering.
Read more: Los Angeles Airport 101: Where to eat and drink at LAX
Travelers can place an order once they're in the terminal. For those who like to plan their meals ahead, orders can also be placed up to 24 hours in advance, with a specified pick-up time.
Breakfast options range from $8-$14 and include dishes such as overnight oats, green smoothies, açai jars, gluten free avocado toast and breakfast bowls. Lunch and dinner options range from $14-$17 and include a salmon bowl, chicken harvest bowl, chicken zucchini noodle salad, grass-fed meatball bowl and a vegan Buddha bowl. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan items are available.
Breeze is the brainchild of Annabel Lawee, who was traveling frequently for business and finding few, if any, meal options at airports that could accommodate her celiac disease.
"Breeze helps fill that void by providing access to wholesome and delicious food, while maintaining a seamless experience for LAX guests," said Lawee in a statement.
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The test program is a partnership between Breeze, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and hospitality company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). The program not only uses digital technologies to try to improve the airport experience for travelers, but it also "encourages entrepreneurship and increases opportunities for local and small businesses," said Justin Erbacci, LAWA's Interim Chief Operating Officer.
Want to try it out?
If you're in Terminal 2 at LAX or heading that way, you can order from the Breeze menu via the LAXshopdine.com website, or use the Breeze app up to 24 hours in advance. If you're already in the terminal you can text an order (directions in the app). Breeze promises to deliver your order within 5-8 minutes to a kiosk near the Terminal 2 dining terrace.
If it works here, the Breeze program, and the use of airport ghost kitchens for temporary or permanent dining services, will likely be expanded to other types of foods, to other terminals and to other airports.
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