A new restaurant, Earhart’s Runway Grill, will open April 5 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) in Florida, home to the annual Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In. Earhart’s will specialize in American fare with lunch and dinner served seven days a week. Breakfast will be served on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’re thrilled to death,” said David Layman who, with his wife Romina, own and operate the restaurant. It will be in the same spot as the popular Tony’s Airside, which closed in February 2008. Layman said the restaurant is named for the famous aviator Amelia Earhart because his great grandfather knew her well.
Layman, a pilot who keeps his plane at the Lakeland airport, said he’s wanted to open a place in the vacant airport spot for a long time. He promises Earhart’s Runway Grill won’t simply be a restaurant with a great view of the airport, it will have an aviation theme, including headphones at all the window seats so visitors can listen to the air traffic control tower at Lakeland.
“With the tower squawking, we’re thinking about kids, who are more mesmerized than anyone” at an airport, Layman said. He said the headphones also serve pilots, who will be able to dial in current airport weather conditions.
For more information: LakelandAirport.com.
Flew into Lakeland Thursday evening and had a great dining experience at the brand new Earhart’s Runway Grill. The food was great, lots of it, broad menu, etc. The service was friendly and very welcoming, even the owners Dave and Romina Layman were on hand to greet diners and show off their new digs. These are the same folks who ran River Ranch and their reputation is following them. Only four days into their opening, they have abandoned their original plan to do lunch and dinner during the week and breakfast/lunch/dinner on Saturday and Sunday; they are already doing breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Yeaaaaaaaa! …and, while their name may say ‘grill’, dont let that fool you, this is a nice, classy restaurant in all aspects, brand new everything, and considerably less crowded than the old tony’s, a nice change! I’m telling all my friends!!