San José City Leadership, SSP America Cut Ribbon on Local Chef’s Kitchen at SJC

Jim Stump’s Kitchen + Taproom Spices Up Airport’s World Class Customer Experience

Ribbon-cutting participants (left to right):  Rebekah Bray, SJC Principal Property Manager; Sarah Imberman, Sarah’s Foods Pat Murray, SSP America, Deputy CEO; Cynthia Lohr, Owner, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines;  Councilmember Pam Foley; Jim Stump, Chef/Owner; Scott Wintner, SJC Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications; Councilmember David Cohen; Mayor Matt Mahan; Councilmember Bien Doan, John Aitken, SJC Airport Director, Natalie Green, SSP America Senior Director, Brands and Concepts; Paul G. Loupakos, SSP America, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Airport Retention; Megan Kennedy, SJC Senior Property Manager

View Photo Gallery: Restaurant and Ribbon-cutting Event

San José, Calif. – Today, officials at San José Mineta International Airport (SJC), SSP America, and several City of San José leaders shared a meal and cut ribbon to celebrate the opening of Jim Stump's Taproom + Kitchen in the Airport’s Terminal B.

The new restaurant, located near Gates 23 & 24, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and is open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., daily. It’s the latest project delivered and operated by SSP America, a division of SSP Group, a leading operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations worldwide. The gastropub-style menu features favorites that have made Jim Stump a premier South Bay chef, from a light and tasty quinoa and kale salad to his hearty and delicious trademark Bolognese.  Adding to the local flavor, a tailored list of craft beers, cocktails, and wines includes San José-based J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, as the house brand.

The restaurant ribbon-cutting welcomed several city leaders, including San José Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Bien Doan, Councilmember David Cohen, and Councilmember Pam Foley of San José’s City Council. The milestone was the first opportunity for the Airport — which is a Department of the City of San José — to officially host leaders from City Hall since SJC was honored with the Air Service Quality Award for Best Midsized North American Airport (Customer Experience) by Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) earlier this year. The public has enjoyed Stump’s classic American cuisine in Terminal B since its March 30th opening.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Jim Stump’s Taproom + Kitchen to SJC. Jim has a history of providing great food and unparalleled service in San José, and can now share his culinary talents with the 11 million travelers that pass through our airport each year,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “SJC’s commitment to showcasing the most innovative local business owners is exactly why we have the best airport in North America.”

SJC’s Director of Aviation, John Aitken, said, “Today, we not only cut the ribbon on a wonderful new dining experience at SJC, but on a new opportunity to showcase the great talent generated right here in San José. It’s another chance to serve our passengers with the world-class customer experience they have come to love and expect at our airport. My thanks go to Jim Stump and SSP America for their partnership, and to our airport team for their work to bring this vision to life.”

SSP America Senior Vice President of Business Development and Airport Retention Paul Loupakos commented, “This is the first of the concepts we will develop here at SJC, and we’re truly looking forward to a continued partnership with the Airport team. Chef Jim Stump has been a fantastic partner and is a true culinary legend in the South Bay area. We couldn’t be more delighted to bring a ‘taste of place’ to SJC with him.”

Rebekah Bray is SJC’s Principal Property Manager, responsible for the Airport’s concessions program and tenant contracts. She notes, “SSP America’s acquisition of the Airport Concession’s contract in 2019 presented us with an opportunity to reimagine our program, provide concepts that resonate with our passenger, and reflect the look and feel of Silicon Valley. The program includes concepts that showcase local and well-recognized chefs such as Jim Stump. SSP America’s partnership with Jim Stump and J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines has resulted in a wonderful sense of place, and a warm, family-friendly environment at the airport that draws the local community together and creates a memorable Airport dining experience that we’re proud to offer to travelers.”

A veteran chef-restaurateur, Stump, along with his wife and co-owner, Angelique Shepherd, add the SJC Airport location to their prior collection of five highly rated establishments across the South Bay: The Table in San José, Shepherd & Sims in Los Gatos, Lamella, a tavern in Willow Glen, and Forthright Oyster Bar & Kitchen and Vespers, both in Campbell.

Jim Stump’s Taproom + Kitchen is Stump’s first namesake establishment, and is the first of nine permanent concepts to be delivered by SSP America under its new SJC contract.