Editor’s Note: Airport Experience News launched the ACDBE of Distinction awards in 2024 to honor small, Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprises-certified firms that excel in their field. The program continues this year. Tyrone Nabbie of Superior Hospitality Group is among four winners for 2025.
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Tyrone Nabbie has been at this for a long time. Bouncing between his native Bahamas and Florida, he’s been in the hospitality industry for 40-plus years.
“I’ve been in this industry as long as I’ve known myself, basically,” he says. “I started out in hotels and worked my way up the ladder, serving in pretty much every position possible, from busboy to waiter to bartender to restaurant manager up to vice president of food and beverage.”
Nabbie arrived in Florida in 1983 to earn his B.S. in hospitality management at Florida International University in Miami. During his studies he entered the aviation industry, serving as beverage manager and food services manager at Dobbs House, Inc., a tenure during which he managed more than 16 beverage units plus a full- service restaurant, seafood bar, two snack bars and several mobile cart units in Miami International Airport (MIA).
Bolstered by this experience, he joined Concessions International in 1987 as general manager, assisting in the opening and management of a restaurant, Floribbean Court, at Orlando International Airport (MCO). Nabbie was then recruited back to the Bahamas to take on hotel and resort management roles. But Florida would soon come calling again, marking a major transition in his career.
“I was recruited back to Orlando in 1993 by a local politician who wanted to make sure there was diversity in a particular contract at Orange County Convention Center,” he says. Concurrently Nabbie founded Superior Hospitality Group (SHG), which would go on to enter a joint venture with Fine Host Corp. to operate concessions at the Convention Center.
That experience was instrumental in paving the way for a career in airport hospitality. “Spending time in Orlando allowed me to connect with the community and with decision makers,” Nabbie says. “And the same restaurant that I opened in 1987 with Concessions International became available for rebid in 1996. With the relationships and connections that I had, I was able to bid on and win that opportunity as an ACDBE prime.”
From there, Nabbie says, SHG was “on an adventure.” The group won additional contracts at MCO as majority partner while still managing concessions at the Orange County Convention Center, and also operated several streetside locations in Florida and the Bahamas.
But then the 2008 financial crisis hit – and it hit hard. “We learned to take a little bit of pain,” Nabbie says. “We lost a few contracts, we resized and we changed our business philosophy.”
Rather than bidding on contracts independently, the group decided to focus on joint ventures with primes that had the capital and resources SHG now lacked. “We were fortunate enough to connect in 2011 with Delaware North, who is still my partner today, 14 years later,” Nabbie says.
Triangle Of Success
Going into business with Delaware North marked the beginning of a rewarding partnership for both companies. Together they operate 59 locations in five airports, including MCO, Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Tampa International Airport (TPA), Richmond International Airport (RIC) and Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF).
“Having witnessed Tyrone’s interactions with various stakeholders, I can attest to his ability to inspire teams, build bridges between communities, and set a benchmark for collaborative success,” says Sunshine White, senior director of strategic partnerships for Delaware North’s travel division. “Whether we’re working on strategic plans or addressing operational challenges, his ability to unite teams and inspire shared purpose is extraordinary.”
Nabbie attributes his success to his multipronged approach to the business – something he calls the “Nabbie Triangle of Success.” The first element of this involves mastering operations. “This includes operating the best facilities, being a great partner, taking care of your employees, your customers and your vendors, and mastering that in the delivery of service,” he says.
Next in the triangle is politics. Internally, that means the landlord/airport, employees and the airport team, while external politics involves board members, government officials and airport authority leaders. “You have to manage those every day, because if people don’t like you, they won’t do business with you. I don’t care how successful you are as an operator, if you can’t maintain a relationship and stay visible and in the face of the decision makers, you won’t make it.”
Finally, the third element is community. “The internal side is taking care of employees, taking care of the community in which you work daily, donating your time and participation in the airport,” Nabbie says. “And the external is giving back to the community outside the airport….”
Looking ahead, Nabbie acknowledges that the ACDBE program faces an uncertain future with the Trump Administration’s determination to shut down diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. With this in mind, SHG is looking into opportunities to bid on smaller concessions contracts independently, while also continuing to grow with Delaware North.
Nabbie adds that SHG’s future plans also involve continuing to mentor other small businesses. “The airport business is not easy, it’s full of nuances and a lot of people don’t understand it enough and fail as a result of it,” he says. “It’s very, very important to us to develop and assist small business operators, passing our knowledge and experience on.”
