Equator flies into retail

Equator staff says it is committed to high quality.

San Rafael, Calif.-based Equator Coffees & Teas will be the featured coffee retailer for Napa Farms Market, a new San Francisco Ferry Plaza-style marketplace being created by boutique airport restaurateur, Tastes on the Fly in the remodeled Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Tastes on the Fly is based in San Mateo, Calif. This location is planned to be the 11-year-old company's fifth in SFO. It also operates in Boston's Logan International Airport and New York City's John F. Kennedy International.

The company seeks out local food purveyors for each of its locations, according to Michael Levine, Tastes on the Fly founder and COO. Its goal is to give travelers access to local fare and local businesses access to a wider audience without the headache of dealing with the massive bureaucracy often found in airport operations, he says.

Equator is a particularly attractive partner because of its deep commitment to sustainability, Levine says. The newly remodeled terminal is aiming to reach Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

This will be Equator's first retail store since it began operations 15 years ago, says CEO Helen Russell. Setting up shop in an airport is an odd move for the $5 million a year Certified Bay Area Green business, she admits. Being able to tell its sustainability story to such a large audience makes the move worth it though, according to her. "We can only control the sustainability aspects that we can control," she says. "The people that are flying … at least they're buying a fair trade, organic cup of coffee."

Napa Farms Market will open in San Francisco International Airport’s renovated Terminal 2 in Spring 2011. Tastes on the Fly projects revenues of $27 million in 2010.