Disputes continue over new airport eateries

Recent efforts to modernize the retail and dining options available at Los Angeles International Airport have been severely delayed due to bureaucratic problems within the Los Angeles City Council.

According to the Los Angeles Times, members of the Board of Airport Commissioners were close to reaching a vote on food and retail additions to LAX in April. Upon learning that board President Alan Rothenberg held shares of stock in a restaurant seeking a contract with the airport, however, Carmen Trutanich, L.A. city attorney, elected to disqualify the entire board.

These delays have resulted in much frustration for the owners of the companies seeking to receive a contract bid from the airport.

“We are mostly small, locally-run businesses, and it’s just impossible to plan because this thing is just in limbo,” Richard Karno, owner of Groundwork Coffee Co., told the Times.

Many of the business owners are seeking the help of lobbyists to increase their chances of gaining a spot in LAX. Nevertheless, it will still take a great deal of time before the board will make any concrete decisions.

“No matter how much people want to talk about lobbying and donations, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this process was a bad process,” said Jerold Neuman, a lawyer involved in the dispute, in an interview with the Times.