Making a $100 flight to buy a $6 meal is a pretty inefficient way to
support the "infastructure".

IMHO, airport restaurants are as important to GA as FBOs.

For decades, GA pilots have flocked to airport restaurants every
weekend, for the proverbial "$100 Hamburger". More than just a $6
burger, this weekly event supported local business and presented
pilots and aviation enthusiasts with the chance to rub shoulders.
This weekly cross-pollenation of pilots and non-pilots probably did
more to build the pilot community than any other single factor.

I remember eating in the "Sky Lounge" (or whatever it was called) in
the 1960s at Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, WI as a boy. We'd have a
great brunch, and then go out on the observation deck to watch the
DC-6s, -7s, and 707s arriving and departing. I could spend hours
there, and that ignited my interest in aviation more than anything
else.

That restaurant and observation deck are long gone, now, along with
the opportunity for local Milwaukee kids and their families to watch
the airplanes over brunch.

I think the loss of 143 airport restaurants in just 12 months is just
the "canary in the coal mine", showing how far down GA flying has
fallen. It's truly scary.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"