[jeffbee]

> Just assembly-line cooking with zero connection to customers.

And this is how it works in many (not all) American airports. Local restaurants put their brands on the signs, but the food is prepared by probationary employees of Acme Baggage Displacement And Cafeteria Management Corp.

[astrange]

I don't feel like I've ever been let down by an airport restaurant or Starbucks (not that I think about it much).

But the airport newsstands that are just someone selling candy in a room with the name of a random local newspaper are an interesting local sight.

[macintux]

I like airport newsstands because they remind me a tiny bit of my rare trips downtown as a kid, when there were one or two places still open that sold magazines like The Atlantic and The Economist. Such a delight at the time.

[JohnFen]

True, which may be a large factor in why restaurants in airports tend to serve overpriced crap.

[saulpw]

Airports have a captive audience.