Sunday, April 05, 2009

Appetites are cleared for takeoff at East Alton airport restaurant


(This article appeared in the April 5th edition of the Belleville News-Democrat. It looks like Dave escapes a fine.)
BY TERI MADDOX
News-Democrat
Jack Vicari did pretty well with his airport restaurant until Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center.The restaurant was in Pueblo, Colo., not New York City. But that didn't stop National Guardsmen from surrounding the airport terminal and blocking off the main parking lot. "It was pretty much a death knell for me," said Jack, 62, of Alton. "An (airport) restaurant business after 9/11? Forget it. There was a guy with a gun for every person eating there." Jack closed his doors two years later but couldn't get the bug out of his system.Last September, he opened Airport Restaurant ALN at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton. (ALN is the airport's international code.) "I want to bring this place back to what it was," Jack said. "It used to be a landmark."Several restaurants have occupied the white-brick building in the past 50 years. Jack's family drove from Alton for Sunday brunches when he was a boy. But the last business, L.C.'s Restaurant, closed in 2002. The building sat vacant for four years before Jack and an old friend began gutting and remodeling it. "I've put my heart and soul into this building," he said. Airport Restaurant ALN has the feel of a family diner with gray tile floors and red-and-white checked tablecloths. Two dining rooms and a private-party room are lined with windows overlooking the runway so diners can watch planes take off and land. Decor ranges from photos of local pilots to model airplanes hanging from the ceiling. On a recent weekday, Charlie Morris sat at a table with four other pilots. He's a regular who enjoys deluxe salads, bison burgers and Friday night steak specials. "It's nice, it's clean, and the food's good," said Morris, 78, of St. Louis County. "And all the rest of the pilots come out here." That prompted a quick response from Ernest Opp, who was finishing up a piece of pumpkin pie. "The pilots come out here to eat because they can't afford to fly," he joked. "Gasoline's $5 a gallon." Opp, 84, of Bethalto, has a long history with St. Louis Regional. He performed as a stunt pilot for the dedication of its first terminal in the late '50s. Morris and Opp are members of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 864, which meets in the restaurant for breakfast on Saturday mornings. "I got to go flying with one of them about two weeks ago," said waitress Kacey Murphy, 33, of Wood River. "... It was pretty fun." Jack owned a restaurant in Buena Vista, Colo., for three years before taking over the Pueblo airport concession in the mid-'90s. "We had all manner of dignitaries come through that airport and that restaurant, including President Clinton," he said. Jack hosted a $1,000-a-plate fundraising dinner for Clinton during the 1996 election campaign. He hired an ice sculptor and rented silver, china, crystal and 20 American flags. FBI and Secret Service agents checked employee backgrounds, tapped the phones and brought in bomb-sniffing dogs. "It was a two-week-long ordeal before (the president) ever showed up," Jack said. So far, nothing that exciting has happened at St. Louis Regional. Jack is doing all the cooking until the restaurant gets more established. He buys choice steaks and extra-lean hamburger. He orders his favorite pancake mix from out West and commercial supplies of Eight O'Clock coffee from Chicago. Jack makes his own ranch and balsamic-vinegarette salad dressings. He also has a special recipe for Southwestern-style chili with red and green peppers. "It's been real popular," he said. "I have people who came just for that. It's got a lot of flavor, but not a lot of heat. Although, I can heat it up if people want me to."Airport Restaurant ALN Address: 16 Terminal Drive in East Alton at St. Louis Regional Airport.Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Serves: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, including omelets, pancakes, sandwiches, soups, salads, steaks, chicken and fish. Capacity: 160 people. Information: 259-5256. On the menu: Ham, bacon and sausage or veggie omelet with hash browns and toast: $6.95. Three pancakes with ham, bacon or sausage: $5.45. Patty melt with extra-lean hamburger: $4.45 (additional $1.75 for French fries). Country fried chicken with vegetable, bread and mashed potatoes or fries. Deluxe salad with lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, cheddar cheese, bacon and a hard-boiled egg: $6.45. New York strip steak with choice of potato, vegetable, cottage cheese or applesauce, soup or salad and dinner roll: $10.95. Coffee: $1.75.

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