Thirteen local business owners graduated from a Port Authority-sponsored program, bringing them one step closer to operating a restaurant or store at JFK Airport in Jamaica.
The ten-week training program, dubbed the Institute of Concessions, helps local business owners—particularly those who are minorities and/or women—learn the skills necessary to get an airport concession space in one of JFK’s new terminals.
The graduates were honored on June 27 at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center in Queens Borough Hall. The courses center around some of the unique challenges business owners face when operating at an airport, such as security.
“For those of us who are minority business owners this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Elena Barcenas at the graduation ceremony. “This is an opportunity for me to grow and to be proud of who I am.”
Barcenas, who owns Rincon Salvadoreno Restaurant in Jamaica, completed the Institute of Concessions last fall. She added that she expects to operate a concession at JFK soon.
During the ceremony, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton congratulated the graduates in a pre-recorded address. Cotton emphasized the program’s impact on local business owners.
“It helps ensure that this historic investment also creates economic opportunity for local and diverse businesses by providing in-depth knowledge and training, delivered by subject-matter experts, on the concessions program at JFK,” Cotton said.
The Institute of Concessions was created in 2023 by the JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council to reflect the agency’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and community development. The June 27 graduates were the second cohort to complete the program, with the first group consisting of 15 businesses. To date, 28 businesses are now ready to compete for and operate concessions at the new JFK terminals, set to open in 2026.
Launched by the Port Authority, the JFK Redevelopment Council aims to boost the local economy as it constructs and completes its $19 billion redevelopment project.
The JFK redevelopment includes two modernized and expanded terminals, two new terminals, a new airport roadway network and a new ground transportation center. The terminal expansions are near completion, and the two new terminals are expected to open in 2026.
