Bad News, Tim Hortons: YVR’s Food Options Just Got a Lot More Interesting

Thirty new food and retail options are slated to set up shop at the airport over the next two years, with options from local heroes Hawksworth and Japadog among them.

I know you’re supposed to be three hours early for international flights, but I take great pride in cutting my airport arrival time alarmingly close to take-off. (Am I an adrenaline junkie?) I’ve found that if you pack light, check-in in advance, master the art of pulling your laptop out of your backpack in one swift motion, and stop making bomb jokes in line, you can breeze through security in mere minutes, so I resent the idea of arriving early just to wait around…especially when the only options for killing time are browsing duty-free perfume or arguing with your travel companions about which of the five Tim Horton’s seating areas is the least sad.But Vancouver International Airport announced today that 30 new food, beverage and retail offerings are slated to join its roster, and many of the names on this list might inspire me to actually enjoy a little quality time at the airport. Rendering from YVR concept video.We’re talking Hawksworth Kitchen, which will feature dishes inspired by both Hawksworth and Nightingale (pizza!) in the domestic terminal. The Dirty Apron is opening a deli with locally sourced meats and produce, and fresh-baked bread. A trifecta of craft brewpubs are on the slate—run by Steamworks, Whistler Brewing and Red Truck, respectively—to showcase our city’s beer scene, and Heritage Asian Eatery will serve up modern Asian comfort food from its own airport outpost. Rendering from YVR concept video.It’s an impressive list that just goes on and on: a new Pacific Farms Market will open in both domestic and international, and feature grab-and-go stations featuring goods from local heroes like Purebread Bakery and 49th Parallel Coffee. Even Vancouver staple Japadog is joining the party and bringing its Japanese-style hot dogs to the terminal. Rendering from YVR concept video.These additions are scheduled to open over the next two years, with some opening up as early as summer 2019. Is this smorgasbord enough to inspire a trip in and of itself? Meet me at Hawksworth before my next flight and let’s find out. Rendering from YVR concept video.