Scotty Browns Airport Restaurant, which opened last year in the Bellingham International Airport, plans to add 526 square feet to the restaurant itself and another 576 square feet at the airport for office and storage space.

The Port of Bellingham’s Board of Commissioners recently approved the restaurant’s lease modification.

“We are expanding due to the enormous success of the restaurant in the terminal,” said Scotty Browns Manager Jason Cooper, in a press release. “The airport has been a great addition to our restaurant brand, and has been well received by the Canadian public due to our association with Browns Restaurant Group.”

The restaurant is located in the secure waiting area of the airport’s terminal. The restaurant expansion will be completed by the end of April.

With the expansion, Scotty Browns will occupy nearly 2,000 square feet in the airport, not including the new office and storage area. It currently seats about 80 people, but will be able to seat more after the expansion.

Scotty Browns employs about 30 workers and spent more than $1 million in building its facilities.

Because restaurant expansion construction is occurring behind a new wall in the terminal, customers will not see the new space until it is complete, and construction will not impact daily operations, Cooper said.

The airport is currently undergoing a $38 million terminal expansion, which includes work to add additional restaurant space.

Scotty Browns also has a location in Bellingham’s Barkley Village, which opened in 2009.

The Vancouver, British Columbia-based Browns Restaurant Group, which operates Scotty Browns, runs 14 restaurants in Canada, as well as the locations in Bellingham.