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Diversity Food Brands licensed for food retail at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport

Diversity Food Brands licensed for food retail at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport

Money Moves Saint Paul, MN local

Minority-owned brand licensor records its first Minnesota license at 4300 Glumack Drive

Today: Food handler retail license recorded at MSP

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A Connecticut company that puts small food brands into airports and campuses has cleared a regulatory hurdle at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture's license list shows a food handler retail license for Diversity Food Brands LLC at 4300 Glumack Drive, the airport's terminal address, first on the list when read September 9, 2026.

The record clears the company to operate a food retail location at one of America's busiest airports; it does not confirm a store is open. Diversity Food Brands licenses concepts like Sandella's Flatbread Café and Le Petit Bistro, targeting airports, universities, and healthcare facilities.

Why it matters

This license gives Diversity Food Brands a foothold at one of America's busiest airports, a high-traffic venue for its brands.

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Key Indicators

1
Food handler retail license at MSP
Minnesota record listing Diversity Food Brands at the airport's terminal address.
67
Franchised Sandella's locations
Diversity Food Brands' flagship brand footprint before the MSP move.
2011
Year Diversity Food Brands began serving customers
Company founded with a focus on non-traditional food venues like airports and campuses.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

January 2011 September 2026

2 events Latest: Today
  1. Food handler retail license recorded at MSP

    Today Regulatory record

    Minnesota Department of Agriculture lists a food handler retail license for Diversity Food Brands at 4300 Glumack Drive, the airport terminal address.

  2. Diversity Food Brands founded

    Company founding

    Company began serving customers with a focus on airports, campuses, and other non-traditional food venues.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1990s–present

Airport concession ACDBE program (1990s–present)

Congress required large airports to run Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) programs, reserving a share of retail and food contracts for certified minority- and women-owned firms. The rule gave small operators a defined path into terminal space long dominated by a few big concessionaires.

Then

Airports adopted ACDBE goal-setting, and certified firms gained leverage in bidding for concessions.

Now

The program created a durable class of minority-owned concessionaires, though national operators still lead the market.

Why this matters now

Diversity Food Brands' ACDBE certification is the mechanism that lets it pursue MSP concessions, and the airport runs such a program.

1990s–2010s

Sandella's Flatbread rise and contraction (1990s–2010s)

Sandella's Flatbread Café built a fast-casual presence in malls and street corners in the 1990s, then shrank as competition intensified. Diversity Food Brands later picked up the brand and repositioned it for airports, campuses, and hospitals.

Then

The brand's physical footprint contracted sharply.

Now

DFB's repositioning turned a faded fast-casual name into a licensing asset for non-traditional venues.

Why this matters now

It shows DFB's playbook: take ownership of tired small brands and win contracts big chains ignore, the same logic behind the MSP license.

Sources

(5)