Airport hospitality operator OTG has opened three new food and beverage concepts at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5, adding Mozz Lab, Serafina and a Starbucks unit to a terminal undergoing a full concessions refresh under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's $19 billion JFK transformation program.
The openings extend a development run OTG has sustained at T5 through 2026, which earlier this year yielded units from Nom Wah, The Halal Guys and Melt Shop. The latest additions skew Italian and coffee-driven, targeting the full range of JetBlue passenger dayparts — from pre-board grab-and-go to sit-down dining in the secure zone.
The Concepts
Mozz Lab, a Brooklyn-based Italian cheese and specialty shop, brings housemade mozzarella, hot and cold paninis and deli fare to the terminal, positioning itself as a premium fast-casual alternative within the concessions mix. Serafina, a Manhattan-founded Italian dining brand established in 1995 on the Upper East Side and now operating across three continents, occupies a full-service space immediately past the Terminal 5 security checkpoint, designed by David Rockwell and Rockwell Group. The format accommodates dine-in, counter service and to-go orders — a split-service model increasingly common in airport foodservice, where operators must capture both leisure diners and time-pressed connecting passengers. Starbucks rounds out the trio as a quick-service anchor, offering mobile ordering to ease throughput at peak departure windows.
Partnership and Pipeline
The buildout is structured through OTG's tripartite partnership with JetBlue and Fraport USA Inc., the terminal's developer. Jose Cuevas, VP of Fraport New York, LLC, described the openings as "another exciting chapter in the transformation of JFK Terminal 5," framing the terminal as a destination in its own right rather than a transit waypoint. JetBlue SVP of marketing and brand Stephanie Evans Greene emphasized the breadth of the new lineup, noting it offers options "for everyone" across the coffee, fast-casual and full-service tiers.
For OTG, the expansion reinforces an asset-light, partnership-driven growth model that relies on airport authority and airline concession agreements rather than owned real estate. The operator functions as a curation and management layer, selecting brand partners — local independents alongside global chains — and deploying technology-enabled service infrastructure behind them. That model aligns closely with where airport F&B is trending: major hub airports have accelerated local-brand integration as a differentiator against generic national QSR lineups, particularly in gateway markets like New York where the culinary identity is a draw in itself.
The Port Authority's broader JFK overhaul, which includes redesigned concourses and curated art installations, provides a macro tailwind for concessions operators willing to invest in premium buildouts. For the foodservice industry, Terminal 5 is becoming a case study in how airline-terminal partnerships can reshape airport dining economics — pushing average unit volumes higher by concentrating foot traffic in upgraded, destination-quality spaces rather than commodity corridors.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
