PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland International Airport, listed for the last 3 years by "Conde Naste Traveler" as the best U.S. airport, will be getting two local restaurants, Portland-based Elephant's Delicatessen, and Beaches Restaurant & Bar of Vancouver, to open outlets, said Scott Kilgo, concessions division  manager for the Port of Portland.

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The Port of Portland Commission approved the additions earlier this week.

Beaches will continue to run what is now the Rose City Café near the entrance to the D and E concourses through the end of the year, Kilgo said. Shutting down during the peak summer season would mean a loss of $4 million in revenues from an anchor restaurant, he said.

Rose City Café will then close for remodeling in January and reopen in the spring as Beaches. The restaurant will feature an array of casual resort food for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with sushi and a full bar.  Beaches also sponsors a Wednesday night vintage car cruise-in at Portland International  Raceway that now draws over a 1,000 historic cars and several hundred motorcycles.

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Elephant’s Delicatessen, known to Portlanders since 1979 for artisan lunches, snacks and catering, replaces the Quizno’s sandwich shop in the Oregon Market food court. Quizno’s closes at the end of the month and Elephant’s is expected to open around October or November, Kilgo said.

Kilgo said he considers it a coup to land local restaurants. Unlike a national brand, there is added pride of maintaining the standards expected  at their Portland-area locations, he said. Both restaurants are in areas that don’t require security screening and airport manager Chris Madsen went so far as to hope that they  might draw a non-flying customer.

The Port Commission also approved lease renewals for locally-based Sandoval’s Mexican Restaurants, retailers  Made in  Oregon, Powell’s Books and The Real Mother Goose and chain eatery Panda’s. Made in Oregon also signed a new lease for an outlet on Concourse D.