All of this discussion of economic development at Rogers Municipal Airport reminds me of beer cheese soup.
Yes, beer cheese soup.
You see, I think a great restaurant would be an excellent addition to the airport. People could have a nice dinner and watch the planes take off and land.
That’s a fond memory of days past when my BFFL, her husband and our buddy Mike, who lived in Memphis, would head to that city’s airport for dinner at the 91st Bomber Group. The Bomber Group was thick with atmosphere. It was decorated to make you think about a World War military outpost, only with more stuff on the walls.
While you waited for your meal, you could watch the zillion or so FedEx planes land and take off. You could even listen to radio traffic between the planes and the tower.
It was that beer cheese soup that kept us going back, however. When the Bomber Group closed, BFFL used her sensitive palate to recreate the recipe, and I continue to make it to this day.
There have been a couple of attempts to open restaurants at the Rogers airport. They have likely failed due to lack of public awareness of their presence and a lack of accessibility to the facility.
The Rogers Airport Commission is about to spend a lot of money — how much has not yet been determined — on a consultant to tell them what businesses might locate at the airport and bring revenue to the facility if they were convinced to locate there.
I am sure they will talk about airplane mechanics, flight schools — all the things always talked about when discussion of business at airports breaks out. And all the things that really haven’t flown around here, so to speak.
I would hope these consultants think outside the box. That’s where something like the Bomber Group restaurant comes in. There may be one fatal flaw with my theory that a nice restaurant could be successful: Without a magic card, access to the airport is severely limited. Members of the news media can’t even get on the grounds when an airplane crashes.
The only way the general public is to enter the grounds is via the gate at Beaver Lake Aviation, the Walmart aviation wing. There is limited parking there, which is often full of vehicles belonging to Walmart employees who have winged their way to some far-flung place for the world’s largest retailer.
Other spaces are taken by Beaver Lake employees and rental cars.
Those who have private hangars also have access.
Want to just hang out and watch the planes? Forget about it.
I have always liked to watch airplanes — not fly on them, mind you — but watch them. It was one of favorite Sunday pastimes as a kid. Thanks to the terrorists of 9/11, attempts were made to lock airports up tighter than drums. Thus the fences around the Rogers airport.
The problem for airport commissioners is going to be thinking outside the box while being locked up in one.
If businesses locate on the airport’s grounds, it likely means the public will need to access those businesses. That will mean more gates — something airport officials have fought. You cannot have it both ways unless a business can be found that doesn’t have to have the public enter regularly.
It is important that Rogers Municipal Airport remain a viable facility. Thanks to Walmart flight activities, it is a busy airport and has been since the days Jimmy Carter — not the president — flew the first chicks that helped start the poultry industry into the area .
However, you can’t hang your hat on just one company. You never know what could happen. So hat’s off to the Airport Commission for looking for other financial resources.
Just remember, commissioners, beer cheese soup could be the answer.
•••
Leeanna Walker is local editor of the Rogers Morning News and Springdale Morning News. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NWALeeanna.