ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — Owners of the Silver Diner have filed a lawsuit in an effort to remain at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where it has been since 2007.
Those who run the restaurant chain, which operates multiple locations across Maryland and the region, say its BWI restaurant serves as an important gateway for travelers and airport workers.
"Silver Diner is the only Maryland-based, owner-operated restaurant in the entire Southwest terminal," said Kyle Rudich, Director of Airport Operations for Silver Diner. "We serve all the pilots, we serve all the in-flight people, everyone across the board, and they're concerned because they know they can get a healthy meal."
Concerns about the restaurant's future began when its airport contract was approaching expiration roughly four years ago, according to Rudich.
Silver Diner worked with Fraport, the concessions developer and management company overseeing the airport's retail and dining spaces, to determine how the restaurant could remain in place.
"In 2022, we signed an agreement with Fraport that we would stay in the same location, same size, no difference; we would just give them a brand new, re-envisioned restaurant," Rudich said.
Rudich said the agreement later changed when Fraport introduced additional renovation requirements in 2023.
"They said, no, not only do you have to do all the front-facing in the restaurant, you have to demolish the entire restaurant," Rudich said. "And for us, that meant almost a cost of $8-10 million."
He said that level of investment for a 10-year contract didn't make sense for business and would have significant consequences for the restaurant's workforce. Silver Diner employs about 120 people at the airport location.
"They lose their jobs. These people rely on that to pay their bills, to go through life, so for a year, it would be shut down," Rudich said.
Silver Diner now says it is prepared to invest up to $4 million in renovations and remains committed to updating the restaurant. However, Rudich alleges Fraport has repeatedly delayed moving forward, prompting the company to take legal action.
"We had no choice but to bring a lawsuit," Rudich said. "So that's where we are now, and because they're not living up to the collaboration agreement we signed in 2022, we had no choice but to bring a lawsuit."
Rudich said the company's goal is not a prolonged legal battle but rather a resolution that allows the restaurant to continue operating at BWI.
"The lawsuit? We don't want that to happen," Rudich said. "We'd rather have MAA (Maryland Aviation Administration) step in and say we want a Maryland-based, owner-operated restaurant in this space, and who better than Silver Diner?"
WMAR-2 News reached out to the Maryland Aviation Administration for comment. A spokesperson said the agency is not a party to the lawsuit and referred questions to Fraport.
WMAR-2 News also reached out to Fraport, but we have not yet heard back.
