Erie Airport Switches Restaurants

Jan. 24--The restaurant that made Erie International Airport known for its steak dinners will be gone by the end of January.

And in its place, travelers will find Hayfields, a new restaurant that airport officials say will better fit air travelers' needs and add more to the airport's bottom line.

Greg's Place, which brought its excellent reputation for steak dinners with it when it moved from downtown Erie's Renaissance Centre to the airport in 2003, will move to a site not yet determined.

Members of the Erie Municipal Airport Authority on Tuesday approved a seven-year deal with the Certo Group, a New Jersey restaurant operator, to take its place.

Certo Group officials arrived at Erie International Airport later Tuesday afternoon, and spokeswoman Eileen Valois said she believes travelers and local residents will be happy with the new restaurant.

Customers will order from a counter and then have meals served at tables in the restaurant.

Valois said the restaurant will serve a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads and hot entrees. She said the company is known for its made-from-scratch offerings, featuring pizzas, panini, deep-dish spaghetti pie, fresh soups and salads.

Valois said the company eventually hopes to develop the empty space that the airport gift shop formerly occupied into an area that serves gourmet coffee, pastries and "grab-and-go food" for airport passengers.

The restaurant is to have Americana and aviation-oriented decor. "We would like to have some type of tribute to the golden age of aviation," she said.

Valois said the idea is to cater to travelers during the week, and offer things like Friday fish frys and prime-rib specials on weekend nights to attract local customers.

Valois said exactly when the new Hayfields will open depends on how fast the airport liquor license can be transferred.

Airport officials viewed Greg's Place as a restaurant that did a better job of being a destination restaurant than a restaurant that attracted air travelers.

But owner Greg Mastrian said he was building a good client base of both. He said many of his former downtown customers were coming to the airport, and new customers were coming from the airport.

Mastrian and airport officials also could not come to terms on a new lease.

The Certo Group will pay the airport $12,000 a year or 3 percent of gross receipts, whichever is more, plus utilities, which run $1,200 to $1,700 a month. Greg's Place paid $12,000 a year and no utilities.

The Certo Group will not have the noncompete clause that kept the airport from hiring vendors for special events, but will have a right of first refusal if another food vendor wants to open a kiosk or outlet in the terminal.

The absence of a noncompete clause allowed the airport board to sign an agreement with PepsiCo Inc. to put three pop machines in the airport. The airport will receive 3 percent of gross sales, plus $500 a year per machine.

The Certo Group in June opened an outlet at the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania, which serves the Allentown area, and officials there say they are happy with the results so far.

"They increased our total revenue for food service substantially," said George Doughty, executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority. "The quality of their food is good. Most of the stuff they provide are things we like a lot. Overall, we are very pleased with what they are doing."

Mastrian moved Greg's Place to the airport after the old vendor -- Cafe ERI -- shut down when air traffic plunged after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the airport lost money trying to run its own restaurant, the Landing Zone.

Mastrian said he is disappointed to be leaving the airport. He said he has no plans for another spot yet, but believes he will find one. "I'm sure we will surface someplace sooner or later," he said.

Copyright (c) 2007, Erie Times-News.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.