Discussion continues on Fort Smith Airport restaurant

In December, the Runway Cafe’s uncertain future led many to believe it could be the end of a full-service restaurant at Fort Smith Regional Airport. But after Tuesday night’s (Jan. 17) Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission study session, the future appears brighter.

“We really need to provide a service here,” Commissioner M. Scott Archer said. “We’ve got this nice airport, nice terminal. The public is used to walking into a nice place, and we need something unique here to emphasize it. I’d be for keeping the restaurant open.”

Commissioner Mac McGee agreed, and others in attendance did not voice opposition, though it is not yet clear how the Airport Commission will proceed once the current four-month extension ends in April 2012.

On Dec. 20, 2011, the Airport Commission approved a four-month extension to keep the Runway Cafe with its current operator, who’d previously expressed interest in ceasing operations at the first of this year.

Under the current agreement, should the restaurant lessees earn below $10,000 for a one-month period, they would keep all gross revenues. Earning more than the $10,000 would mean the airport claims 7.5% of gross.

Following the December meeting, Executive Director John Parker told The City Wire the restaurant's revenues were directly tied to enplanement numbers, “which can fluctuate with little rhyme or reason making an exact revenue projection for the four-month period impossible to predict,” he said.

Revenues have been in steady decline since 2007 in spite of fluctuating enplanements. Since that time, Parker analyzed restaurant revenues against enplanements from 2003 through 2011 and revealed the following:

In 2003, revenues were at $128,596 with 90,493 enplanements. In 2004, the numbers were $125,985 against 92,928; 2005, $141,166 against 102,607; 2006, $141,166 against 94,717; 2007, $124,606 against 99,127; 2008, $105,267 against 87,030; 2009, $77,987 against 78,432; 2010, $72,673 against 86,129; and 2011, $71,000 (estimate) against 86,234.

“It’s clear tying any of this back to enplanements is fairly difficult,” Parker said. “In 2006, they (enplanements) dropped off but revenue stayed the same. While the official end of the recession came in June 2009, who feels like it is really over? Based on these numbers, no one. We’ve since recovered in enplanements, but revenues continue to drop in the restaurant operations. I think a lot of that has to do with consumer confidence and no real indicators the economy has turned around.”

One option discussed at the study session involved the airport paying a management team a flat fee to operate the restaurant, while the Airport would continue to own the equipment and take on all the financial risks. Another possibility is that a second request for proposals (RFP) could be issued.

Parker did not seem in favor of this route as the first RFP failed to receive interest from outside vendors. Still another possibility is that the Airport could decide to assume full operation of the site.

In addition to these possibilities, the Airport Commission considered an increase in vending options to the secure area of the Airport, offering gourmet coffee machines and pastry options.

The Airport Commission will consider action on both the restaurant extension and increased vending at the February monthly meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting is on Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m.