Nestled between Burger King (NYSE:BKC) and Quiznos at the Sacramento International Airport is a taste of Southeast Asia thanks to a full-service restaurant several miles away.

The unexpected food find is part of the new horizon for airport concessionaires. That is, looking beyond the quick-serve galaxy for other segment brands willing to think outside their bigger boxes.

Lemon Grass Asian Grill & Noodle Bar opened in Sacramento’s Terminal A this past summer as a scaled-down version of chef/owner Mai Pham’s Lemon Grass Restaurant on Munroe Street in Sacramento and its sibling eatery, Lemon Grass Asian Grill & Noodle Bar, two blocks away.

Wolfgang Puck paved the way when he developed Wolfgang Puck Express in 1991, leading to quick-serve Wolfgang Puck to Go airport units.

California Pizza Kitchen (NASDAQ:CPKI), under the direction of HMSHost Corporation, already has 18 mini airport locations, most recently in Las Vegas and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, airports.

But as the jet stream leads to more local food desires and regional tastes, independent full-service operators also have the opportunity to try their hand at tapping into the new airport market. When the Sacramento Airport Authority along with HMSHost Corp. approached her two years ago about the airport possibility, Pham found herself thinking through the benefits and challenges of making a bite-size airport version of her full-service operation—mainly squeezing her restaurant fare through security and into the allotted boutique space.

In the end, she saw it as a great opportunity to draw the attention of captive passers-by, not unlike the street-food scene in her native Vietnam.

“Vietnamese cuisine is a very healthy Asian addition to the overall mix of food offerings, and Lemon Grass already had a great following in the local community,” says Pat Banducci, HMSHost’s senior vice president of business development. The company operates and manages the newly opened unit.

Working with other successful single-unit operators, HMSHost also recently helped establish Providence Oyster Bar at the T. F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, and 42nd Street Oyster Bar at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

“We tailor the menu to preserve the essence of the brand, yet still be able to operate and produce the same quality results in a smaller kitchen/prep environment,” Banducci says. “We bring as many of the popular items from the street-side restaurant as we possibly can and work extensively with the restaurant’s chef to accomplish this goal.”

The mini Lemon Grass operates in 1,200 square feet with 20 feet of counter space in a food court. And while HMSHost manages it, Pham marvels at the challenges, like security, logistics, and labor issues.

Unlike her large restaurant menu, where changes are common and easy, “Here, once you write the menu, that’s the way it has to be. And with sourcing, you can’t have any old vendor drive up to the airport. There’s the whole screening issue and becoming an authorized vendor,” she says, adding that vendors have to be on a list, and they must come on the right days, at the right time, and be cleared through security each time. “There’s no such thing as last-minute deliveries of anything,” she says.

In spite of it all, Pham’s ingredient specs have raised the quality bar for Sacramento airport food. The tofu for several of the dishes comes from a Sacramento family that has made fresh, creamy tofu for two generations. And for the Vietnamese national soup, pho, it’s nothing but fresh-made noodles and fresh Asian basil from her favorite suppliers.

While planning the scaled-down menu, Pham was careful to select signature dishes and others symbolic of the original restaurants. Her criteria were the dishes must be easy to prepare consistently and be simple. She ended up with three menu categories: salads and salad rolls; curries and grill; and noodle soups—just 14 menu items with a price range of $3.69 to $8.99. The two most popular dishes are Thai green curry with chicken and her personal favorite, pho.

One of HMSHost’s biggest challenges is the fact many consumers are much less familiar with Vietnamese cuisine than they are with Chinese food. Photos have been added alongside menu descriptions on the menu board to help. “We believe people are very visual, and it has been helpful to show a photo rather than just the name of the dish,” Banducci says. “We plan to expand this ‘visual menu’ more in the coming months.”

While the sauces and soup bases could present time challenges, Pham created a broth line several years ago, Mai Pham Lemon Grass Kitchen products, which is essential for the quick airport concept. “If I didn’t have the broth I created through StockPot, I would have to get bones and cook the stock overnight. That’s how it’s done in Vietnam. But I developed a line of broth bases, all fresh, which allows the dishes to be assembled on location.”

She also chose recipes appropriate for last-minute cooking, as in dunking noodles for 30 seconds. “There is no fire, nothing deep fried, and nothing takes too long,” she says. “The vegetables are cut very thin, Asian style, so they cook faster.”

She went with a Rationale oven with a combination steam/bake feature, which allows for steaming rice and vegetables and baking the roast lemongrass chicken. To maximize space, Low Boy refrigerators sit underneath the ovens and stovetops. “We’re making use of every inch of space,” she says.

Response to her new endeavor has been overwhelming, Pham says. Sales are projected at more than $1 million for the first year.

She says she is gratified when she hears that pilots stop at Lemon Grass and then get into their cockpits with 30-ounce containers of steaming hot pho or curry. “It’s very surprising to me that that’s what they want to eat.”