Louisiana wares at Regional Airport

Despite troubling economic reporting, there are some bright spots locally. For example, Mark Crawford, the airport business and development manager at Shreveport Regional Airport, said, “Things are doing really well at the airport.”

And things are changing there, too. One new change is the 318 Forum Travel Shop, which has been open for slightly over a month. The retail store is part of a renovation of more than $2 million that has been underway for about a year and a half.

“We were trying to come up with local concepts that people from the region would recognize and people not from the region would become familiar with,” Crawford explained. “We reached out to Jay (Covington, publisher and editor, 318 Forum), and they were interested.

“When you go to other cities, there is the CNBC Travel Shop or the Univision Travel Shop; in Charlotte, there’s a Today Show Market. That’s what we were going for.”

What can you find at 318 Forum Travel Shop?

“It’s anything you could need while you’re traveling,” Crawford said. “Everything from snacks and drinks to grab-and-go sandwiches and meals.”

You’ll find neck pillows, Barksdale AFB merchandise and the expected Louisiana-themed items, including some unusual ones.

“There are voodoo dolls — they sell out all the time — a Louisiana Tic-Tac-Toe game, there’s Sugar Walk Popcorn. There’s lots of mugs and cups and shot glasses and things like that,” he said.

Covington said, “What an honor to have our brand so broadly recognized that it is an attraction. We are extremely proud of our place in this gateway to our region. Shreveport Regional is (a) place of pride for our city.”

Tailwinds Hospitality is the operator of all the restaurants and the retail store at the airport. Crawford said they are a great partner to work with, and they make all the different store brands work. 318 Forum Travel Shop joins Taco Mania, Notini’s, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.