- March 16, 2026
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Upon the recent opening of the area’s first Wahlburgers restaurant, the revamp of food and beverage offerings in Concourse B at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is complete.
Only ticket-holding passengers, though, can visit the location and sample the fare brought by the famous Wahlberg brothers — actors Donnie and Mark — and executive chef Paul. That could change in the future as the airport is exploring the possibility of joining several others across the country in partnership with TSA to allow non-ticketed passengers beyond the security checkpoints.
“Our hope is that, in the near future, you won’t need to buy a ticket to go airside,” SRQ President and CEO Paul Hoback told the Observer. “We're working with the TSA right now to possibly allow for an opportunity for people to go airside without being ticketed.”
It’s a program piloted in 2017 at Hoback’s previous post, Pittsburgh International Airport. Dubbed there as myPITpass, the guest pass concept is growing in popularity at airports of a variety of sizes across the country, including Tampa International Airport.
The guest pass program is a nod to the bygone era of friends and family sending off or greeting arriving passengers at the gate. Security checkpoints, passenger screening and access restrictions were implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and remain in effect at almost all U.S. airports.
Guest access isn’t open to everyone as participating airports limit the numbers of passes available and typically restrict hours of access to non-peak travel times. The TPA All Access program, for example, limits pass pickup to between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and caps six guests per airside in two-hour entry blocks. In addition, guests are limited to one airside per visit and each must be individually registered and cleared.
“We were the first airport to do it and it was very successful,” Hoback said of myPITpass. “It wasn't during peak times like 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. because we didn't want to overload the checkpoints. They stopped it during COVID, and the TSA has brought it back, and they’re polling airports to see if they're interested.
“We said we are very interested.”
The myPITpass program has yet to resume since suspended in 2020 because of airport expansion and renovations at PIT, which were led by Hoback. There are at least 19 participating airports across the country, among the most notable:
In addition to restoring some of the nostalgia of pre-9/11 air travel, guest passes will contribute to an airport’s bottom line by allowing more people into the airside areas where they may spend money at trendy airport bars, designer boutiques and, in the the case of SRQ, sample the fare at such restaurants as Wahlburgers or Huey Magoo’s Chicken, which are otherwise currently unavailable locally.
Under the leadership of retired President and CEO Rick Piccolo, master concessionaires SSP America and Paradies Lagardére were selected to replace Host Marriott. They invested a combined approximately $16 million to make changes in Concourse B and in the pre-checkpoint terminal area
The directive to the new concessionaires, though, was to upgrade the food, beverage and retail options in the concourse and bring local favorites and national brands. In the new Concourse A, local restaurants Patrick’s 1481 and Anna Maria Oyster Bar serve Allegiant passengers.
In addition to Wahlburgers and Huey Magoo’s in Concourse B are local favorite Mattison’s restaurant and Bradenton’s Motorworks Brewing. Complementing them are The Salty Key bar and general store Seaside Mercantile. Scheduled to open this week is Shoppes at Siesta Key. Remaining in the airside are Jimmy Johns and a remodeled Starbucks.
The upgrades are important, said Hoback, because SRQ is the first — and last — impression made on those traveling here.
“I think of this airport as an extension of someone's vacation. It's not just a point along the path of someone's trip,” Hoback said. “It doesn't stop when they leave the beach. It doesn't stop when they leave their hotel. It stops when they get on that plane and fly home. That vacation should continue here. It's having that sense of place. It's the manatee (sculpture), it's the waterfall, it's the Mote aquarium, it's the local concessions. That brings it all together.”
More could be coming to Concourse A. Hoback said the south end of the new airside is lacking in a convenient concession, particularly during busier times.
“Before we opened several of the new concessions areas, there were long lines,” Hoback said of Concourse B. “Just making sure that we have the number of concessions you need to really be able to service your passengers, I think, is really important.”
