Delta Air Lines on Aug. 4 announced it will reinvent the customer dining experience at New York's LaGuardia Airport with the introduction of 13 new food and beverage concepts throughout its main terminal facility beginning this fall. Developed exclusively for Delta by airport restaurateur, OTG Management, the LaGuardia upgrade reinforces Delta's commitment to customer service and is one of several major investments being made by the airline in New York.

Along with adding more than 40 new destinations from LaGuardia and JFK combined, Delta, during the last four years, has expanded its award-winning BusinessElite service to transcontinental flights from JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco, reintroduced "Red Coat" customer service ambassadors at LaGuardia and JFK, added 2,000 jobs across New York state, and recently announced new First Class service to six mid-sized cities in the Southeast and Midwest.

"As part of our aggressive plan to invest and improve our main terminal at LaGuardia, Delta is fully committed to enhancing the experience for our New York customers with superior amenities that include outstanding food and beverage choices," said Gail Grimmett, Delta's senior vice president --New York. "We're confident that the unique concepts we're developing with OTG at LaGuardia will reinforce our efforts to become New York's preferred airline, offering our passengers the best customer experience available in airport dining."

OTG Management will own and operate each of the new dining establishments and has assembled a group of New York City's top chefs - including Riad Nasr, Lee Hanson, Michael Lomonaco, Dominick DeMarco, Jamison Blankenship, Jim Lahey and Jason Denton -- as well as restaurateurs Chris Cannon and Garrett Oliver to create restaurant concepts that are exclusive to Delta's main terminal at LaGuardia.

The new dining experience will include 13 distinct food and beverage concepts and brands, an expansive gourmet food hall, coffee bars and a wine bar. The redesign will launch in phases, starting Aug. 21, with full redevelopment of the space expected to be complete by summer 2011.

Delta's LaGuardia Main Terminal dining experience will include Crust: Featuring thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pizzas with artisanal toppings, the individually sized pies at Crust are baked at nearly 700 degrees for the perfect crunch. Crust's menu was developed by New York baker Jim Lahey (Co. and Sullivan St. Bakery), whose bread is famous throughout the city.

Further, a gourmet food hall will enable travelers to mix and match menu items from four quick-serve eateries, self-serve hot and cold food bars, a soup station, sundae station, bakery, gourmet market and other delicious options, to create the perfect meal.

The new restaurants replace mainstream airport concepts that have existed at the terminal for more than a decade. In addition to new cuisine, each new restaurant will feature inviting design, lighting and music created by New York-based design firm ICRAVE and custom music provider EL Media Group.