The restaurant at the Williamsport Regional Airport could be re-opened by mid-spring. Formerly known as the Skyview Restaurant, it went out of business about six months ago.
The Airport Authority on Thursday approved a lease agreement with Cloud 9 Restaurant and Lounge LLC, a group of local restaurateurs comprised of Fred Daniele, his sister Maria Daniele and local chef Steve Orso.
The lease calls for the group to pay $600 a month for the first year, with increases added through each subsequent year, except the last. The agreement also includes a five-year renewal option.
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SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Susan Hare, left, of Millville, disembarks from a US Air Dehaviland-8 aircraft at the Williamsport Regional Airport in October 2005. Passengers and visitors to the airport soon will have a new restaurant to try — Cloud 9 Restaurant and Lounge — which will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.
According to Fred Daniele, the restaurant will feature a continental menu augmented with Italian dishes from his family's restaurant and those of other Italian families in the area.
Daniele said the restaurant will have a bar and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
"We're going to bring an international flair to our regional airport," Daniele said. "We're going to have fun with it. It's a great spot - a nostalgic spot. We're excited to get in there and operate out of it."
With the lease agreement approved, the group now can apply for a liquor license, according to airport Executive Director Thomas Hart. It will take between 30 and 90 days for the license to be approved.
On March 1, Hart, airport Marketing Director David Frey, Jeff Corson of US Airways, and Jason Fink of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce will meet with US Airways in Phoenix, Ariz., to discuss scheduling a fourth round-trip flight between Williamsport and Philadelphia. The trip also includes a stop in Tampa, Fla., where meetings will be held with five other airlines to discuss bringing a second commercial carrier to the airport.
During the meeting, authority Chairman Mark Murawski read a resolution honoring former authority member Blaise Alexander. Alexander served on the authority from 1995 to 1998 and from 2004 to 2011, which Murwasaki said were "critical times in the history of the authority."
Former county Commissioner Rebecca Burke was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Alexander and attended her first meeting on Thursday.
