Three new concessions approved for Red, Yellow lines to enhance customer experience
The CTA is adding a dash of spice and fresh, homemade Mexican cuisine to its offerings with the addition of Flaco’s Tacos to its growing list of rail station concessions. The agreement with the local taqueria chain is one of three long-term agreements approved by the Chicago Transit Board today for concessions spaces along the Red and Yellow lines.
Customers and neighbors of the Granville Red Line station will soon enjoy fresh, homemade Mexican food with the opening of Chicago’s fourth Flaco’s Tacos location. The Chicago-based restaurant will lease the concession and outdoor patio space located at 1116-1120 W. Granville Ave., adjacent to the Granville Red Line station. The close proximity to environmentally friendly and affordable public transit services complements the food purveyor’s already “green” efforts of using bio-degradable or recyclable packaging, recycling its used vegetable oil and use of alternative fuels, such as bicycle delivery.
Also approved today was a long-term lease for the concession space at the Skokie Yellow line station, which has been vacant since 2011 when Greyhound closed its operations at that location, will soon feature a new Dunkin Donuts. A third lease was awarded to an existing Dunkin Donuts vendor that has been a long-term tenant at the Loyola Red Line.
“The CTA continues to add new, unique concession offerings for the convenience of our customers,” said CTA President Forrest Claypool. “We have also made a priority to seek long-term leases to maximize revenue to support agency operations. The addition of these new vendors is mutually beneficial to customers, CTA, the tenant and the communities they serve.”
The three leases have a base-term of 10 years plus two five-year options and to the total of 50 new concessions that have been added across CTA’s rail system since 2011. Annual revenue generated by these lease will add nearly $82,000 to CTA’s non-farebox revenues and nearly $936,000 over the course of the lease terms.