A new café is set to take flight at Burlington International Airport. The week of September 15, Kestrel Coffee Roasters will open its fourth location directly above security on the second floor of the main terminal.
Charlotte Steverson, who owns Kestrel with her husband, Johnny, said the airport spot will be “very much the same” as Kestrel’s other locations. The couple opened their main roastery, café and production kitchen in South Burlington’s Technology Park in 2018. Burlington cafés on Maple and Pine streets followed in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
The airport menu will feature drip coffee, espresso drinks, chai, matcha and creative seasonal specials. Food options include sandwiches, snacks, and Kestrel’s popular ham-and-egg breakfast sandwiches on housemade biscuits. Breakfast burritos, a new addition, will hit the menu at the downtown cafés this week.
At BTV, travelers will be able to place online orders in advance and pick them up when they make it through security, Steverson said. The café will open at 4 a.m. and close at roughly 8 p.m., following the flight schedule. As at other Kestrel locations, tips won’t be accepted.
The Steversons learned they’d won the airport’s competitive request-
for-proposals process this time last year. Contractors began assembling the spot — something between a kiosk and a full-scale café — on September 2 and built most of it in a week, Steverson said.
“We love representing Vermont,” she said. “It’s stressful to travel, and we’re going to provide amazing hospitality for people, whether to welcome them home or send them on their way.”
This article appears in Sep 10-16 2025.
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