Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen launches customizable non-alcoholic drinks, with expansion planned for 1897 Market alongside seasonal food pairings across the terminal.
CLT has introduced customizable dirty sodas and refreshers at Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen, with an expansion to 1897 Market planned in the coming months.
- HMSHost launched customizable dirty sodas at Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen in August, with sweetness levels, flavors and toppings tailored to customer preference.
- The dirty soda and refresher concept is expected to expand to 1897 Market in the CLT Atrium in the coming months.
- Beverage prices at Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen range from $4.39 to $7.99, with blue raspberry boba and strawberry popping pearls currently the most popular option.
- CLT is also rotating seasonal food offers, including a summer bison-and-bourbon pairing and an Oktoberfest menu at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery through October.
(NEWS) CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, United States, 2026-Sep-15 — /Travel PR News/ — Airport dining at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is taking a cue from social-media beverage culture, with a customizable “dirty soda” concept now serving passengers and airport employees before security and a broader rollout planned inside the terminal.
HMSHost by Avolta, CLT’s food and beverage concessionaire, introduced the drinks at Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen in August. The concept combines a soda base with creamer, flavors and toppings, while a dedicated machine measures, blends and aerates each order. Customers can also adjust sweetness levels, giving the format more of a made-to-order feel than a standard fountain drink.
The launch is part of a wider effort by CLT and its concession partners to refresh the airport food-and-beverage experience as passenger volumes remain high. Charlotte Douglas handled 53.6 million passengers in 2025, its second-busiest year on record, and the airport says 18 new concessions were introduced across the terminal during that period.
A pre-security test bed for a social-media beverage trend
Queen Charlotte’s Kitchen sits on the lower level at Baggage Claim, before passengers pass through security. That location gives the concept exposure not only to departing and arriving travelers but also to airport employees and people meeting passengers.
According to CLT’s passenger-experience update, the outlet currently offers three dirty soda varieties, including fruit-forward options and a coconut-and-vanilla combination. The wider beverage menu includes craft refreshers, boba chillers and natural energy drinks priced from $4.39 to $7.99. CLT says the most popular option so far has been a blue raspberry boba drink with strawberry popping pearls.
The airport says the dirty soda and refresher concept is expected to expand to 1897 Market in the Atrium in the coming months. That would move the offer from its initial pre-security setting into one of CLT’s better-known terminal dining locations, giving it access to a larger flow of connecting passengers.
CLT uses limited-time pairings to refresh established airport restaurants
The drinks are only one part of the concession strategy. Over the summer, several HMSHost-operated venues at CLT offered a chef’s special pairing of a bison burger with Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon. The promotion appeared at Whisky River, Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and 1897 Market.
The pairing was developed by Andrew Aiton, HMSHost’s Chef de Cuisine at CLT. Aiton oversees food operations across more than 60 airport restaurants, according to a CLT profile of his role, and regularly refreshes menus across the concession portfolio. He is now evaluating additional seasonal pairings for the holiday period, with sushi and tequila among the ideas under consideration.
That approach reflects a broader shift in airport concessions toward rotating menu items and experience-led food and beverage offers rather than relying only on fixed menus. At a major connecting hub such as CLT, limited-time products can give frequent flyers and airport employees something new while also testing concepts before a wider rollout.
Oktoberfest brings a seasonal menu to Concourse D
Seasonal programming is also continuing at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery on Concourse D. The airport says the restaurant’s Oktoberfest menu will run through October, with an Oktoberfest Sausage Board, Traditional German Sauerbraten and a Kaiserschmarrn Funnel Cake among the limited-time items.
The OMB venue itself opened at CLT in late 2024 under HMSHost’s master food-and-beverage concession agreement, bringing the Charlotte brewery’s German-inspired format into the terminal. Along with newer concepts such as Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill and the planned dirty soda expansion, it illustrates how the airport is using both local brands and fast-moving consumer trends to differentiate its dining mix.
For passengers, the immediate change is relatively simple: more non-alcoholic premium drink choices, more seasonal menu items and more experimentation across familiar airport venues. For CLT and HMSHost, the larger test is whether those trends translate into repeat purchases and a stronger sense of choice at one of the country’s busiest connecting airports.
