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Sad news for Texas aviators


cnoe

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This is really rough.

We go there once a month and it's my favorite trip to take people who haven't been in a small aircraft before. A truly perfectly situated place.

I wish them both the best, I presume they're retiring is the reason. It was always hopping when we went.

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Evidently retirement has nothing to do with it. There just isn't enough business at the airport to keep it open. They're blaming a lot of it on the down turn in the oil business. They say the folks in oil just aren't flying planes like they used to and aren't frequenting the airport nearly as much. They will keep everything in place and are optimistic about reopening in the next 2 to 5 years.

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2 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

I found that the number of "non flying" people at the Diner to be substantially higher than at most airport restaurants.

They are critical to keeping on-field restaurants open. Every one that I've been to that stays in good standing makes most of their money from people in cars, some of whom come out to watch the airplanes. Making a living off of mostly pilots would be rough . . .

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Just now, Hank said:

They are critical to keeping on-field restaurants open. Every one that I've been to that stays in good standing makes most of their money from people in cars, some of whom come out to watch the airplanes. Making a living off of mostly pilots would be rough . . .

I agree. Our restaurant at Dallas Executive seems to have very few "local" patrons. I worry constantly about their longevity.

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8 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

I agree. Our restaurant at Dallas Executive seems to have very few "local" patrons. I worry constantly about their longevity.

We are having the same issues here , i think most restaurants in GA airport are just barely surviving ! The $ 100 hamburger is near it's end . 

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I talked to the owner/manager of the restaurant at KTYR (Tyler Texas) about the problem. He said he actively courted the local churches for after church lunch. They seem to do fairly well with it. Our restaurant at RBD is a restaurant bar, which doesn't sit well with the church crowd. I plan on taking a shot at the restaurant critic at the Dallas newspaper, to see if I can get him/her to visit and hopefully hype it. We need field restaurants.

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KDYR (Dyersburg)...Three owners in five years. Closed last year for good. Building scheduled to be torn down..The business owner was skipping Uncle Sam's slice of the pie ( no pay sales tax). Feds shut them down. City was owed four months back rent. How the city let them go that long without paying rent, well...I guess somebody left the barn gate open. No accountability. Airport restaurants are getting sparse.

 

-Tom

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There a many successful airport restaurants in California, but from what I've seen it all comes down to location, location, location with good food and good service. However the location is most important. If the airport is located too far away from town, towns people won't make the drive no matter how good the food. If the building doesn't have a good view of the runway and ramp, then what's the point in driving out to the airport? If the town is too small to support it, it will flounder.

The towns people, or location in a terminal where there is scheduled air carrier service is key. Pilots flying in is likely less than 5% of the business, however their ability to land, taxi up and park in front of the diners is a draw for non pilots and kids. Folks that work on the airport will only frequent if the prices are super cheap. The same goes for many of the CB airplane owners based there they really can't depend on the locals to survive.

The one creative solution I've seen is at Merced Muni. The restaurant there has struggled for years and changed hands many times. It is located a ways from town and there is little local airport activity. The solution that has worked so far is, they are open for lunch, but they have turned it into a destination at night. It's at the airport, so they have plenty of room and they can make as much noise as they want, so they put in an outdoor band shell, tables and chairs, outdoor bathrooms and of course a full bar. They have live performing acts there regularly.

Loyalty to the bar, seems to be bringing in daytime drinkers from what I can tell. Pouring lots of beers now. The place is now well attended even during the day even though the food is bad, the service poor and has a poor view of the runway and ramp. It is now very much a local's hang out for some of the folks in Merced and it just happens to be at the airport.

I admire the creative thinking and the effort they put in to make it a success. I just wish the food was better.

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Memories created at airport restaurants last longer...

1) My college friend turned the legal age. His family took us to the Bomber Squadron for his first legal brewski.  They served something called beer cheese soup there.

2) That friend's dad introduced me to MSFT's FS.  Simulating a C172 around a now missing island airport in Chicago.

3) A couple years later I had my first date with the future Mrs. C at the same restaurant.

4) I learned to fly a year after getting married.

5) Introduce somebody you know to aviation, take them to an airport restaurant....

6) Build somebody's confidence in flying, share a copy of MSFT's FS.  It is surprisingly low cost and available as a download.

7) Working on your own IR skills?  Listen to the radio broadcast while having lunch at an airport restaurant.  Pick an airport with a busy control tower.

8) Testing your skills to see if they are IR quality? MSFT's FS has a training section associated with Rod Machado.  A great way to supplement learning/practicing the procedural parts.

9) Last time I visited a NJ airport restaurant was a NJMP fly-in.  

10) If you get hungry reading this list, go visit an airport restaurant!   :)

Thanks for the memories,

-a-

Edited by carusoam
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Stearman Field outside of Wichita has turned into a jewel thanks to private ownership/development over the last 10 years. The restaurant has grown into a destination for townies, bikers, cyclists, and of course pilots, both transient and based/living there. It helps being the only restaurant in a small town, too. Beer and live music go hand in hand. The food is pretty decent as well. It sits maybe 150 feet from the runway, so there are great views and sounds.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

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39 minutes ago, TWinter said:

KDYR (Dyersburg)...Three owners in five years. Closed last year for good. Building scheduled to be torn down..The business owner was skipping Uncle Sam's slice of the pie ( no pay sales tax). Feds shut them down. City was owed four months back rent. How the city let them go that long without paying rent, well...I guess somebody left the barn gate open. No accountability. Airport restaurants are getting sparse.

 

-Tom

We had a great one in NOFK Norfolk, NE.  Barnstormers.  They turned the old terminal into the restaraunt. The kids loved going upstairs and watching airplanes come and go.   Always busy when we were there, but somehow owners got way behind on taxes and rent.  One owner was even on the city council as i recall.   Cheap gas, 2 huge runways,  close in to town, great place to stop on a long XC.  Oh well...  going to have to hit Miami Co  K81 more often for BBQ!

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KDWH, near Houston has a pretty good causal restaurant.  You get your money's worth in regards to portions.  I am not sure of their financial health but I am pretty sure they have two separate companies leasing the kitchen, one does breakfast, one does lunch, at least it used to be that way.  Might be a way to survive these days versus one business trying to cater to all.

Russ

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I got this via e-mail today ...

 

This is from the owners of the FBO & Diner.

Neither Jack nor I are very Facebook savvy. 
When I did my weekly email check (I don't do that very much either
) I was bombarded with Facebook messages from so many people who commented and wrote such kind things about our little Diner. WOW, the out-pour is enough to have turned us into balling babies. Jack often said (when we would get a compliment from someone about the Diner) that we worked for compliments in lieu of pay! 
Today we feel rich!
To see our dream come true, to see so many people gather with their families and friends, enjoying themselves is more than we can put into words. Often we would sit at a table to eat lunch ourself, we would look around at all the commotion, families getting together, the laughter, pilots planning their next trip. Jack would grab my hand and tell me "we did it kiddo, look around, isn't this great, so many people coming together enjoying themselves at our little Diner". Every change that we made (i.e. closing at nights) was to keep it going. With the down turn in the economy from the oil business we lost many of our clients that flew in and purchased fuel; which in turn allowed us to subsidize the Diner. God willing, if the economy turns around, we hope to come back, in some capacity.
Thank you all for your kind writings. I don't know how to reach everyone that has written, so I hope this note spreads as did our announcement. My heart feels comfort in knowing you enjoyed the Diner, yet breaks to know it's an end to our dream......Jack says NOT, and he is always right, just ask him.
Thank you, everyone who has taken the time to call or to post a message. We feel truly blessed.
Jack & Janet
Southern Flyer Diner

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8 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

I found that the number of "non flying" people at the Diner to be substantially higher than at most airport restaurants.

Absolutely. If you went on a Sunday around noon, the after-church crowd was there in force. I remember one time when a very prim older woman who came directly from services ordered a piece of pecan pie and a chicken dinner, in that order. Somebody kidded her, and she replied, "Honey, at my age, you always eat dessert first . . . in case you die before the entree comes." My wife remembers her fondly.

Things must really have changed since we based at San Marcos. It was always crowded on weekends, and, particularly during the warmer months, weekdays were pretty steady. I counted 48 planes on the ramp one Sunday.

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Very surprising & sad news.  I would have never guessed business/patron volume was a problem.  I've always heard that the restaurant business was tough, but never imagined this place having a rough go of it.  In Bryan at Coulter field we looked at 11R as a model airport, wishing a restaurant on field was possible.  I do believe the down turn in the Texas economy has hit everybody, especially oil business & construction.  The decline in pilot population and the graying of those of us left with the aptitude and devotion for this kind of mechanical/physical based endeavor is evident everywhere.  

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Restaurants- been there- done that. It's a hard way to make a living. It's 18 hrs a day 6 1/2 days a week. Absentee ownership don't work. The most often started business in the USA? A restaurant. The most often failed business within 5 years in the USA? A restaurant. My hat is off to anyone wanting to do that life. They are real Americans doing the American dream. You can make a lot of friends owning a restaurant but you always have to remember that you get one chance at each customer no matter how many times they've been there. Keeping up quality day after day is the challenge. To judge a restaurant? Go look at the bathrooms. if they take pride in their restrooms you can bet the rest of the place is perfect. 

I can well imagine the tough decision to close the restaurant. It's something they built with their own hands that is no more (for a while anyway).

I hope things turn around for them and they can once againopen the doors.

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