At Durango-La Plata County Airport, a pre-flight meal used to mean eating before you joined the TSA line. That has changed. Most of DRO's concessions used to sit before the TSA screening area, Aviation Director Tony Vicari told the Durango Herald this month. As of this fall, the main place to eat is past the checkpoint, and it is run by a Durango restaurant group.
Thanksgiving is four weeks away. For anyone flying out of the Durango area, that means you can clear security early and still get a real meal.
The Hub Behind the Checkpoint
The Steamworks Hub is now open past security. The airport announced the opening the week before the Herald's October 5 story. Its menu draws on the Steamworks Brewing Co. kitchen downtown: the Southwest Salad, the Southwestern Burger, fish and chips, mac n' cheese and nachos. HomeSlice pizza is sold by the slice as a grab-and-go option. The pizzas are made at HomeSlice, driven to the airport and cooked on-site by concessionaire Sky Dine. On tap you'll find Colorado Kolsch, Steam Engine Lager and Sultan of Stoke IPA.
The surprise hit so far is the grilled cheese. Kris Oyler, CEO of Peak Food & Beverage, the parent company of Steamworks, El Moro Tavern and HomeSlice Pizza, told the Durango Herald it has been one of the most popular items.
The space has filled up quickly. Vicari described one lunch hour to the Durango Herald:
"So far, it has been overwhelmingly positive. I was just back there at lunch hour today and nearly every seat in the Steamworks space was filled with passengers."
If the seats were full at lunch on an ordinary weekday in early October, expect the same during the Thanksgiving and December rush.
Why the Gate Area Now Tastes Like Town
Having a Durango brand past security was a deliberate choice. DRO's concession contract has changed hands twice in three years. Tailwind Concessions won it in 2023 over Durango Deli, a longtime local operator. In 2025 the airport selected Sky Dine, a South Dakota company, to replace Tailwind. Vicari told the Herald the Tailwind contract was always meant to be temporary, and that Sky Dine's focus on local brands was a key reason it was chosen.
"Our overarching goal is to have the airport experience be a reflection on our community here in Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners," Vicari told the Durango Herald. Sky Dine executive vice president Austin Sejnoha said the Hub was "just a drawing on a napkin" a year earlier. He credited Nunn Construction and the airport team with building it.
Steamworks is Sky Dine's first local restaurant partner, but not its only local supplier. The Durango Herald reported in September that Sky Dine's local product partners include:
- Ska Brewing
- Zuberfizz
- Honeyville
- Mountain Dough Baking Co.
- Tippy Canoe
- HomeSlice Pizza
- Cream Bean Berry
- Animas Chocolate Co.
- Graze Colorado
- Farm to Fingers
- Love 'N Juice
- Coca-Cola of Durango
Many of these names are already in your kitchen or on your weekend loop through downtown Durango. If a visiting relative leaves with a jar of Honeyville honey or a bar of Animas Chocolate, it can now come from the terminal.
What's Open and What's Still Expected
The new lineup is arriving in stages, and some dates have already moved. In September, Desert Sun Coffee Roasters was expected in October. By the Herald's October 5 story, it had become early November.
| Spot | Location | Status as last reported |
|---|---|---|
| Steamworks Hub | Past TSA checkpoint | Open, announced the week before October 5, 2026 |
| Desert Sun Coffee Roasters kiosk | Past TSA checkpoint | Expected early November 2026 |
| Durango Market and Grill | Before TSA checkpoint | Expected sometime in October 2026, per the Herald in September |
Desert Sun is owned by Zachary Ray. A post-security coffee kiosk fills the gap that matters most on DRO's early departures, when the alarm goes off before anything in town is open. Durango Market and Grill will stay on the curb side of screening, which suits anyone waiting to pick someone up.
The Terminal Is Being Rebuilt Around These Restaurants
The restaurants arrived alongside the largest terminal upgrade in the airport's history. The new TSA checkpoint was expected to open Thursday, May 21, 2026, according to a TSA release. TSA said it was designed to improve passenger flow, wait times and screening efficiency. By mid-July, the City of Durango reported that the checkpoint and a new primary American Airlines boarding gate were both open. Food and beverage areas were still under construction and expected to open in early to mid-fall. The whole expansion was on schedule to finish this fall. The Steamworks opening fits that schedule. Some construction may still be underway when you fly this holiday season.
The airport needs the space. DRO handled 59,048 passengers in June 2026, the most it has ever served in one month. That was up 15% from June 2025 and beat the previous record, set in July 2025. Through the first half of 2026, traffic ran 13% ahead of 2025. For a sense of scale, the airport served about 560,000 passengers in all of 2025. That works out to roughly 46,700 a month, well below the June 2026 figure. Vicari said the growth includes residents choosing DRO as their airport, along with visitors and business travelers.
Parking Before the Thanksgiving Rush
Busier gates mean busier parking lots. DRO's 2026 rates and charges schedule, effective January 1, 2026, sets public parking at:
- The first 60 minutes free
- $1 for each additional 30 minutes
- A $10 maximum per 24-hour period
The free first hour covers most curbside pickups. The $10 daily cap is the number to use for a week-long trip.
The holidays have their own pattern, and last year shows what it looked like. In October 2025, the airport announced that the daily rate in the main, south and remote lots would rise from $9 to $14 from November 25 through December 5, 2025. It expected demand to exceed its 1,304 spaces and ran remote shuttle parking. Arriving drivers were directed to the remote lot and shuttled to the terminal curb and back. No 2026 holiday parking plan had been announced as of October 19. Check the airport's parking page before you leave for Thanksgiving.
Parking entry may also look different. The City said in July that DRO would launch a new parking access system in August, with license plate recognition and more payment options, to speed up entry and exit during peak seasons.
Arrival times have not changed. Last year's holiday advisory repeated TSA's advice to arrive two hours before domestic departures, especially during peak travel or bad weather. It also noted that ticket counters close 45 minutes before departure. With the Steamworks Hub past the checkpoint, travelers who clear security early can eat near their gate.
Where the Nonstops Go This Winter
DRO is served by American Airlines and United Airlines. Both run year-round daily nonstops to Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Phoenix. United operates up to six daily flights between Durango and Denver year-round. This winter it adds its seasonal nonstop to Houston, twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from December 19, 2026, through March 27, 2027, on a 70-seat Embraer E-175, according to the City of Durango. The Houston flights begin six days before Christmas. With only two departures a week on a 70-seat plane, booking early matters more for holiday travel to Houston than for the daily routes.
The Herald quoted Oyler on what the airport location offers Peak Food & Beverage: "a valuable branding opportunity" for Steamworks and HomeSlice.
Many second-home owners and out-of-state buyers in Southwest Colorado arrive through DRO, so how the airport works affects how often they can make the trip. If you are weighing a mountain property and want to know how it would fit your travel, or you'd like to know what your current home would sell for this season, Zach Morse and the team can help. Request a Market Valuation and we'll start with the details that matter to you.
