If you’ve flown out of Wilmington International Airport in recent years, chances are you grabbed a sandwich or a drink at Jetstream Burger Bar or the Radar Bar or Boarding Time Burritos before takeoff.

The trio of businesses is owned and operated by Tailwind Concessions, a Wilmington-based company that flies well beyond North Carolina’s airspace.

“We have a total of 15 right now that we operate, airports all over the country. We’re in the Southeast, Midwest, Northwest,” said Jess Backhaus, chief operating officer of Tailwind.

But the birth of Tailwind actually took place about 1,900 miles west of here, in the ski resort town of Aspen, Colorado. That’s where company founder Alan Giaquinto launched his original Tailwind Deli in 2001 and operated at the Aspen airport. That’s where the company built its tradition of offering high-quality food, beverage and retail, according to Backhaus.

But like air pockets and headwinds, change was in the air.

“The Wilmington airport was looking for a new vendor, and we opened here in January of 2005 as a small coffee cart post-security and a pre-security full restaurant and gift shop,” Backhaus said.

Fly forward a dozen years, and Tailwind is preparing to open its first restaurant that isn’t in the cozy confines of an airport terminal.

In March, Scratch on 23rd will open its doors to serve gourmet breakfast and lunch items in a building on the grounds of ILM.

“Tailwind has been a great partner in the ILM airport facility since 2005,” said Airport Director Julie Wilsey. “Over the years, they have made significant investments to meet the changing demands of our airline passengers and employees.”

It was a long flight from a terminal restaurant in Wilmington to Scratch on 23rd, starting a couple of years after first opening at ILM.

“We got our first opportunity that fit our business model in 2008 at the Tri-Cities, Tennessee, airport. That’s the Bristol-Johnson City-Kingsport area, where the Bristol Motor Speedway is,” Backhaus said. “That airport came out for bid, and it fit our goal for expanding, which was regional mid-sized as Wilmington is.”

During this time, Tailwind made substantial investments to create a full-service airport concession, including catering services for private jet flights, conferences and meetings.

“We pride ourselves on our relationships with airport administrations. We don’t look at ourselves as a business in an airport, it’s all about being a team. We all have a willingness to work and work hard. We’re very involved. We don’t have to answer to a large franchise,” Backhaus said.

“To accommodate the TSA check-in area and improve the traveler experience at the airport, Tailwind converted a pre-security restaurant to a post-security restaurant, which also helped with the overflow that was developing in the original post-security restaurant,” Wilsey said. “Alan Giaquinto, Tailwind owner, is a team player always looking for ways to improve services. As a result of Tailwind taking over the restaurant and gift shop operation in January of 2005, ILM experienced over 300 percent growth in sales and revenues.”

Tailwind focuses exclusively on regional, mid-sized airports across the country. Since Wilmington and the Tri-Cities, it has also landed in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Corpus Christi, Texas; Eugene, Oregon; Grand Junction, Colorado; and others.

All its facilities have local names.

“We go by local feel for naming the establishments, whether it’s by landmarks, historic sites, to brand our restaurants,” Backhaus said.

If you are in Tallahassee, you’ll dine at the Live Oak Grille; in Eugene it’s the Willamette Grill; and in Corpus Christi you’ll eat and drink at the Coastal Bend Bar & Grill.

Here in Wilmington, it’s currently the Jetstream Burger Bar and Radar Bar, but those monikers are expected to change soon.

Tailwind has 14 employees at its headquarters at 408 Landmark Drive and about 300 around the U.S.

Backhaus said commitment and investment have been key to the company’s success.

“Because we’re in small airports, where there might not be a lot of space, we invest in a lot of high-end, quality cooking equipment,” he said. “You focus on speed and quality, because this isn’t what you call a layover airport where people have two hours to sit and have a long meal. They want quick and quality.”

Tailwind is slated to open an airport restaurant in Fayetteville in 2018.

But on its immediate radar is the opening of Scratch on 23rd.

“We believe Scratch is going to provide a much-needed food service option to not only the ILM campus but also to the businesses in the surrounding area on 23rd Street, Kerr, Castle Hayne,” Wilsey said. Backhaus said there is more to come, down the Tailwind runway. “We are in discussions with a couple of airports right now, that we’re looking at,” he said. “This company is aggressively on a growth spurt. We are constantly looking.”