Dallas sports legend Dirk Nowitzki is opening a restaurant at DFW Airport

Dallas Mavericks and NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki is opening a restaurant at DFW International Airport.
The airport board on Thursday approved the new restaurant simply called Nowitzki in Terminal C, part of a newly opened expansion at the airport.
Nowitzki is set to open at the end of summer 2023 and the restaurant will feature a virtual reality experience that allows customers to interact with the NBA Finals MVP.
“So if you don’t have the opportunity to meet Dirk in person, you will be able to, through augmented reality, take your picture with him,” said Zenola Campbell, DFW Airport’s vice president of concessions. “It’s going to feature our very own Dirk, who is a brand name in the metroplex and not only here but across the globe.”
Nowitzki played 21 years for the Dallas Mavericks, which included an NBA MVP in 2006 and an NBA Championship in 2011. He remains involved with the Mavericks organization and lives in the area. He was at the airport board’s meeting on Thursday, but was not available to talk about the project, a representative for the company said.
The restaurant will be operated through a partnership with D&B Mitchell Group.
Renderings of the new Nowitzki restaurant themed after Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, set to open in Terminal C at DFW International Airport in summer 2023. (D&B Mitchell Group)
Early plans for the menu include an international variety of foods available all day, including a few foods inspired by Nowitzki’s home country of Germany, including chicken schnitzel, bratwurst with sauerkraut and German potato salad, according to the D&B Mitchell Group website.
D&B Mitchell Group is pairing with Frisco-based augmented reality company Aireal for the virtual experience.
Nowitzki will be near the C-37 gates, part of the new “High C” gates that opened in July with 16-foot, curved wood ceilings and tall glass windows that can be dimmed on sunny days. The rest of terminal C is set to get an overhaul soon, too, part of a $500 million upgrade.
The restaurant is one of four new concession businesses that the airport approved on Thursday, along with a new fast-casual dining and convenience store called Plum, a convenience store from Dallas charity, The Bridge, and Fort Worth coffee shop Ampersand.
Ampersand, which has a location near downtown Fort Worth and another on the Texas Christian University campus, plans to open up next to the new Nowitzki restaurant in Terminal C in late 2023.
Dallas and Fort Worth homeless recovery center The Bridge is opening a convenience store in Terminal A near the A9 gate. The store is expected to hire people through the Upspire program, which tries to give job training and opportunities to people facing homelessness.
The new store will sell travel convenience products and is expected to make about $200,000 a year for The Bridge.
“Through this creative partnership, one of our city’s most important homelessness services centers will receive a major boost that will help get people off our streets and back on their feet,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson in a statement. “I hope this concept serves as a model for how we can help move Dallas forward while helping us serve the most vulnerable people in our city, and I look forward to shopping there before my flights out of the second-busiest airport in the world, DFW International Airport.”
Plum Market, near the A8 gate, is run by airport concessions giant Hudson and is set to open in late 2023. It will be the second Plum Market location at DFW, joining another in Terminal B.