New snack shop at Sawyer International Airport

One of the amenities at Sawyer International Airport is now looking, and tasting, a little bit different.

The passenger terminal has a brand-new snack shop. It’s called Northern Gate to reflect a partnership between Marquette County and Northern Michigan University Dining Services. The County Board voted at the end of July to approve the partnership to renovate and supply the store.

“Everything’s positive that we’ve had come back (from travelers),” airport operations manager Steve Schenden said. “It’s a really nice addition to our terminal. The county put in all-new cabinets in here. It was Northern’s design, but the county paid for them. There (were) a few other, minor renovations that we did in there to get it ready for Northern.”

Northern Gate opened in mid-December. Besides offering salads, sandwiches and coffee, it also serves as a miniature NMU campus store with plenty of Wildcats apparel.

“We had gone out and tried to find somebody here for quite a while, and at first Northern wasn’t interested, and then they decided it was also a good marketing (opportunity) for them, and so they decided to try it for a year,” Schenden said. “We worked really hard to get somebody in here, and we’re really glad to have Northern in here.”

Northern Gate is open six days a week from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and also from 4 to 6 p.m. The exception is Saturday, when it’s open from 5 to 9 a.m. only.