Passengers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) will soon dine like an Olympic Gold medalist. Simone Biles - a world-renowned gymnast and Houston native - is developing a new restaurant, Taste of Gold, in partnership with The Playmakers Group. The collaboration is set to enhance the diversity of culinary options at Bush Airport, which welcomed 46.1 million passengers in 2023 and ranks among the Top 10 World’s Best Airport Dining Experiences in 2024. 

Taste of Gold will celebrate Biles’s remarkable global achievements. The chef-crafted menu will feature signature food and beverage items curated by restaurant industry innovator Mark Brezinski and created to ‘wow’ every traveler.

“I am very excited to partner with The Playmakers Group and their dedicated team to help bring a new restaurant to my hometown airport,” said Simone Biles. “I am a foodie at heart, and our hope with Taste of Gold is to offer a beautiful dining experience that features award-winning, signature menu items with some of my favorite flavors sprinkled in for our guests.”

Taste of Gold reflects the ambitious goal of Houston Airports to offer brands that meet the guiding principles of our concessions vision: 

• Achieve exceptional customer service and offer a five-star experience 
• Encourage innovative, unique and exciting concepts  
• Showcase Houston as a premier, world-class destination  
• Create a sense of place within the airport  

“Bush Airport is proud to offer one of the top airport culinary experiences in the world and it’s only going to get better,” said Francisco Cuellar, Chief Commercial Development Officer for Houston Airports. “We join the millions of people around the world who find inspiration in Simone Biles, an athlete who continues to raise the bar while achieving success and defying expectations. Houston Airports is on the same history-making trajectory as we redefine what it means to dine inside an airport.”

SSP America will operate Taste of Gold with customer service and operational excellence at the top of its mind. As a long-standing partner, SSP America has a proven track record of successfully operating concessions at Houston Airports. This latest concept will support SSP America in creating even more local jobs.

“Simone Biles is the ultimate symbol of excellence,” said Taste of Gold’s managing partner, Derek Missimo. “Her incredible achievements, inspirational leadership, and spirit align with our values at the Playmakers Group. We are incredibly honored to partner with her on this restaurant which will offer something truly special to our guests and the Houston airport community.”

 A Taste of Gold is under construction inside IAH Terminal A and will open near Gate A8 in the first quarter of 2025.

About The Playmakers Group

The Playmakers Group was founded by industry pioneers from D&B Mitchell Group, a highly decorated SBEC and ACDBE-certified concessionaire with locations at DFW, IAH, PHX, and SFO airports. Their award-winning locations have served travelers for over 40 years and earned them NCTRCA’s coveted “ACDBE Concessionaire of the Year” as well as numerous other awards from the airport industry and the cities they serve. The Playmakers Group operates and licenses celebrity-athlete-themed restaurants in major domestic and international airports. 

About Simone Biles

Simone Biles is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. A three-time Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year and three-time Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, Biles’s extraordinary accomplishments have received widespread recognition, including the youngest recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, TIME's 100 Most Influential People, Forbes' 30 Under 30, Ebony Power 100, People's Women Changing the World, USA Today's 100 Women of the Century, and CNN Heroes, among others. An ambassador for Friends of the Children, Biles utilizes her platform to help advocate for change and support initiatives that provide education and assistance for children and young adults associated with adoption, foster care, and overall wellness.