Aug. 18—LAKELAND — It's been more than two years since Lakeland Linder International Airport had a restaurant. The city's looking to change that.
Gene Conrad, LLIA's airport director, told city commissioners there are two entities who are interested in opening a full-service restaurant in the airport terminal. Conrad would not reveal who the groups are at this time.
"We are hopeful to get a restaurant back in the terminal soon," he said.
The airport's lofty 5,000-square-foot, second-floor space hasn't hosted a restaurant since HallBack's Bar & Grill closed back in February 2019 after a five-year run. Serving up ribs, chicken and fried shrimp, the Plant City-based family catering business decided to move away from a brick-and-mortar shop to expand its other services.
Marcos Fernandez, chef and founder of Lakeland's upscale Nineteen61 restaurant, announced plans in May 2019 to open a restaurant in the airport. It was based around the concept of his prior short-order, walk-up eatery D'Lucas. It would have featured a menu of Latin-inspired foods from Cuban and Peruvian cuisines.
It never came to fruition.
"Through the pandemic and all of this, they opted out to not want to do anything," Conrad said.
The airport will have a selection committee review the two applications and rank the entities, according to Conrad, before either making a decision or conducting interviews to determine who is best suited for Lakeland Linder. The process is expected to take a few weeks to reach contract.
Conrad told the city commissioners he doesn't expect the new food service operator will pay rent for the first year, it will likely be waived to help the operator get established and be successful moving forward. The target is to get a restaurant open by the start of next year, hopefully before the annual Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo.
It has been an ongoing challenge for restaurant owners to entice diners out to Lakeland Linder International Airport, as Conrad admitted it's a bit off the beaten path. The airport still does not have any commercial airline carrier, which would bring a more steady stream of customers.
There are still opportunities for Lakeland to bring a commercial airline service to the city, according to Conrad.
"We are putting our best foot forward, working aggressively and talking with several carriers," he said. "We're putting pedal to the metal because we truly believe there's an opportunity here and finding the right partner who is ready to operate in this market."
Conrad said he's attended two "speed dating" style events to speak with representatives of different airlines within the last month and a half.
There are several factors Conrad said make Lakeland attractive, including it is the area's fast growing population, the location between Tampa and Orlando, and installation of a new, upgrade airport runway landing system. The city also has put aside $1 million in fiscal year 2022 budget to serve as an airport backstop, or incentive to lure a commercial carrier.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.
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