Airport makeover: PHL welcomes Jose Garces to Terminal F

The Philadelphia International Airport is getting a $127 million expansion that will bring new retail, dining options and one of the city’s big name chefs to an outlier commuter terminal.

According to Philly.com, Terminal Fs upgrades will include “twice as many restaurants and concessions, more passenger seating, and an expanded security checkpoint.”

Renovations are expected to be complete by 2014, and when all is said and done, retail sales are projected to grow by about $8 million.

Rick Blatstein of Philadelphia’s OTG Management plans to bring celebrity dining to the newly renovated concourse, offering comfort food “with a Jose Garces twist.”

Though the Terminal F restaurant will not be a Garces Group restaurant, Garces will be consulting on a project promising 60 brands of beers and iPads at each table.

Blatstein brought Michael Schulson’s contemporary Asian cuisine to Terminal C when he helped to create Sky Asian Bistro.

In addition to the dining upgrades, the main hub of Terminal F will also be expanded offering a larger shuttle bus stop, covered vestibules, the addition of a taxi stand and relocated baggage claims.