Mary and I have been going to Kays/Katie's since October of 2007. Over the years I have met up with fellow pilots and friends, along with the Beech Aero Club and the North East Flyers groups. Looking back through my blog Mary and I even took my sister and her husband for breakfast there.
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| Photo by Bob Ciotti |
I will certainly miss this short hop for good eats and service. On field restaurants are far and few between and the really good ones even more scarce.
Todays flight was smooth despite 20 knot headwinds going west. My hangar neighbor Chet accepted my invitation via text last night so he road right seat.
We were quickly seated but had a bit of a wait to order. It really didn't matter, the three of us sat and chatted and I soaked up the buzz of the crowd and my surroundings. Yes, another restaurant may come in, but it's not the same as Mary's and my favorite go to. Breakfast did not disappoint and the crowd had picked up as we were walking out.
Ramp time
Bob, Chet and I spent a good bit of time on the ramp watching all the traffic taking off and landing. We all had a pucker moment when a plane on short final had a CAP Cessna roll out on the runway and takeoff right in front him. Since the plane taxied in and parked just a few spots up from me I had to go ask what happened. The pilot, a young man, flying in from the west side of the Bay, said that the CAP Cessna had asked how far out he was. IMO, obviously he didn't look out the window or if he did he needs glasses. The pilot responded one mile final and with that the CAP plane said I'm taking off and rolled across the hold short line. The CAP plane was wheels up as the plane on final landed.
Our flight home was smooth as we enjoyed a 14 knot tail wind. I set up to cross midfield and enter the left downwind for runway two-zero. I made a very nice landing and road a wheelie almost a thousand feet. I tucked 3 Tango Charlie in the hangar, taking a pass on draining the oil for a change so I'll go back next week either fly, run up, or use the sump heater before I do the change.
A few pictures over the years...
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| Beech Aero Club |
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| Bev, Frank, Jeff, and me |
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| Jeff's Saratoga, a surprise find that day. |
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| Me and Jeff |
It's really disappointing to see so many of these terrific, unique places struggling and closing. I had a conversation with another airport diner owner in PA recently who forecast that he would probably shut down in the spring and that others in the region would follow. He pointed to increases in food costs and staffing issues as being his biggest challenges. In his case, he relies on local retiree street traffic that compensates for variable pilot traffic, but with costs up across the board, they had seen a lot of their older clientele eating out less. We've had a few airport restaurants close in our area, but there are some signs of new owners coming into some of them. It's obviously not an easy gig.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see these places close the doors. I can only imagine with the cost of supplies and the fact that no-one wants to work can be a big problem for many eateries, not just at the airports. We have watched many of the mom and pop places here in OCMD close their doors.
I guess I'll be crossing the Delaware Bay to find eats on breakfast runs. Although I did hear that a BBQ joint will be coming to replace Katie's. We shall see.