Travelers passing through Terminal A at San José Mineta International Airport can now grab handcrafted tiramisu at any hour, thanks to a new 24/7 self-serve kiosk from Alma Dessert that opened near Gate 14. The automated stand sells the shop's signature tea-based beverages alongside its tiramisu, giving red-eye flyers and early-morning travelers a dessert option even when most other concessions are shuttered.
The airport announced the opening in a post on X, writing “Treat yo' self. Alma Dessert is now open near Gate 14!” according to San José Mineta International Airport
. The kiosk's round-the-clock, automated format lets travelers on late-night or early-morning flights pick up a fresh dessert without waiting on staffed hours, per details on the airport's own
SJC dining directory
.
From a Sunnyvale Storefront to the Terminal
Before landing a spot in the airport, Alma Dessert built its name with a brick-and-mortar shop on South Murphy Avenue in downtown Sunnyvale, where it specializes in Asian-infused tiramisu flavors like matcha, ube, and pistachio. The local dessert shop built its regional following in Silicon Valley, as detailed by El Estoque, before expanding into the travel hub.
The airport kiosk is managed through a specialty retail program run by asset manager Provenzano Resources Inc., which places small, minority-owned, and local Bay Area businesses into airport concourses. That leasing framework, outlined by Provenzano Resources Inc., allows small businesses to operate in high-traffic terminals through low-overhead kiosks and carts rather than full storefront buildouts.
Part of a Larger Terminal Overhaul
Alma Dessert's arrival fits into a broader retail transformation at SJC. In March 2025, the San José City Council approved a 12-year retail concessions contract with Hudson and Paradies Lagardère that included a $16.9 million capital build-out across a dozen airport retail spaces, a deal previously reported by Hoodline. Under SJC's updated concession guidelines, grab-and-go food items sold inside new terminal retail locations must be sourced from vendors within Santa Clara County, a rule Hoodline detailed in its report on the airport's four-shop opening last month.
San José Mayor Matt Mahan said in 2025 that the airport's retail and dining makeover was intentionally timed ahead of major 2026 Bay Area sporting events, including Super Bowl LX and the FIFA World Cup, according to that same Hoodline report. Just weeks before Alma Dessert's debut, SJC opened four other new retail outlets in August — Plaza de San Jose at Gate 13, plus The Goods @ SJC, SJC Exchange, and Poppy's Essentials Market in Terminal B — as part of the airport's multi-phase terminal makeover.
Growing Passenger Traffic Meets New Amenities
SJC processed roughly 10.7 million passengers across its two terminals in 2025, making it the second-busiest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area, per data cited by Wikipedia. Traffic has fluctuated more recently, though — the airport logged 831,000 travelers in November 2025, a 13% decline from November 2024 attributable to airline seat capacity adjustments across the Bay Area market, according to SFGATE.
Even so, new flight connections could bring more foot traffic through SJC's concourses in the coming months. Alaska Airlines announced in September 2026 a 50% seat expansion at Washington's Paine Field that includes a new twice-daily nonstop route to San Jose launching in April 2027, as reported by the Lynnwood Times — expanded regional connections that stand to benefit terminal vendors like Alma Dessert well beyond its opening week.
