Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport added three more New York names in June 2026, with Eataly, Nom Wah and The Halal Guys joining the terminal as part of a $100 million refresh. The new openings give travelers dining and shopping choices that did not exist there before, while the larger rebuild keeps moving through the summer.
The draw is not just the brands themselves. Eataly opened a 3,800-square-foot restaurant, wine bar and grab-and-go marketplace, while Nom Wah brought a 3,500-square-foot restaurant and bar to the terminal and The Halal Guys added its familiar street-cart-to-counter menu of chicken and gyro platters. At Eataly, the opening came with live performances in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, a detail that fits the airport's push to make the terminal feel unmistakably tied to New York rather than any generic concourse.
That is why travelers are noticing the changes now. The refresh is being led by JetBlue, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Fraport USA, and by July 9, 2026, the Fraport New York team had welcomed nearly a dozen new arrivals. Once complete, the terminal is expected to have more than 40 new shops, restaurants, communal spaces and art installations inspired by New York City and its boroughs, with brands such as Leon's Bagels, Jacob's Pickles, Melt Shop, Dunkin', Shake Shack, InMotion, Park Emporium and Gameway already part of the mix.
Jose Cuevas said the goal is to create more than an airport experience and instead build a place that reflects the spirit of New York. Teresa Rizzuto said the additions match the Port Authority's vision for a new JFK with a uniquely New York experience, and Stephanie Evans Greene said each opening brings another flavor of the city for customers to explore. The catch is that the terminal is still being transformed, not finished: the central concourse is nearing completion, but the full refresh remains in progress, with dedicated spaces for pop-up experiences, interactive events and live performance still being layered in around the active retail buildout.
For now, Terminal 5 is functioning as a showcase for what JFK wants to become, not what it already is. The next phase will be measured less by one headline opening than by how quickly the rest of the promised New York mix arrives, and whether the terminal can keep its identity coherent as more of those pieces are added.
