CAPE GIRARDEAU TAKES ANOTHER LOOK AT AIRPORT EATERY

Opening inside the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport has been the kiss of death for several restaurateurs.

Consider the location's history. In the fall of 1994, the city took over operation from Mary Bergen. Trevier Minton began leasing the restaurant in December 1995 and went out of business earlier this year.

Then Ron Woodard, owner of a prosperous restaurant in Jackson, decided to give it a try. In August, Woodard said the right advertising, speedy service and discounts for workers near the airport would make his business a success.

He opened in September and closed in November, blaming lack of traffic for the decision.

Now the city's Airport Advisory Board is left looking for another occupant. Former airport manager Greg Chenoweth, who left the city's employ on Friday, is convinced the search should continue.

"Having a restaurant is the key to a successful airport," he said. "Here, you have to have a market niche to bring people in. If word gets around that Cape Girardeau has a really great buffet, pilots flying cross-country will divert to stop here."

Some airport managers agree, others don't. It depends on where the airport is located.

Barkley Regional Airport sits five miles outside Paducah, Ky. It is operated by the Paducah Airport Corporation, a not-for-profit group established by city and county governments. The corporation runs the airport's eatery.

Airport manager Richard Roof said the restaurant isn't a money maker. It is kept open from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to ensure his airport's status as a full-service operation.

Passengers kept waiting by two commuter airlines -- TWE and Northwest Airlink -- like to grab a bite in the restaurant. So do pilots, Roof said.

The biggest problem is that the airport is in a dry county. If the corporation could set up a lounge, Roof said, the restaurant would do better.

The Southern Illinois Airport outside Carbondale let its restaurant die quietly in 1989. Four different operators, including Southern Illinois University, ran the restaurant for 25 years prior to its closure.

"We're quite a bit more remote than the Cape airport," airport manager Gary Shafer said. "We just couldn't attract people out to the airport to eat. The restaurant wasn't financially successful at all for 25 years."

He said a few pilots may have stopped visiting the Southern Illinois Airport after the restaurant closed -- the weekend fliers who enjoy sampling various airport diners. Other than those few, traffic has remained the same.

But Carbondale's airport has an advantage over Cape Girardeau's. The nearby university offers flying-related degrees and must utilize the airport, creating an instant customer base. Cape Girardeau must rely on private pilots for business, and a restaurant may attract more of those.

Scott City pilot Ed Schafer flies planes for various area companies. He said he misses having the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport restaurant open -- he passed time between flights sipping tea and coffee there.

Schafer said he met other pilots in the restaurants. Many of them were just passing through and called into the airport management office to ask if the restaurant was open.

"A lot of them would stop here on their way to a smaller airport that didn't have a restaurant," Schafer said.

Rob Rollins, a member of the Airport Advisory Board, also has his pilot's license. He currently is heading up a subcommittee that wants to fill the restaurant's 100 seats with hungry diners.

"We'd like to have it open tomorrow, but it's not going to happen that fast," Rollins said. "We need to do our homework and not have another situation like with Woodard's. Hard work, commitment and dedication -- that's what we need in that restaurant."

With that combination of qualities behind it, he said, the restaurant can add to an already excellent airport terminal.