PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The Punta Gorda Airport is looking for a new restaurant operator to bring full-service dining to its general aviation Air Center, and officials say the space is almost ready for takeoff.
The airport is now accepting bids to lease and complete the buildout of a 2,853-square-foot restaurant and bar inside the PGD Air Center, located about 1.5 miles from the airport’s commercial terminal.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on the Air Center restaurant:
PGD said about $400,000 has already been invested in framing, rough plumbing and electrical work, lighting, and has various kitchen equipment including a commercial-grade pizza oven in place.
To help attract the right operator, the airport is offering a $200,000 reimbursement once the space is fully built out and has received a certificate of occupancy.
"An ideal restaurant would be something that's like a cafe, could be pizza and wings or sandwiches,” said Kaley Miller, the airport’s chief marketing officer. “The most important thing is that they have a breakfast, lunch, and flight catering option. We're looking for something casual, that people can enjoy and sit down and have some food and enjoy a drink.”
The PGD Air Center, a 13,500-square-foot facility, supports private, military, and corporate aviation, as well as flight schools and general aviation services, “everything but commercial airlines.” In 2024, PDG said it recorded more than 140,000 takeoffs and landings, nearly half of which utilized the Air Center.
Miller told Fox 4 the restaurant is needed to help support the airport’s growing number of visitors and the more than 1600 employees who work there, and noted a lack of dining options within a three-mile radius of the property.
“The pilots that come here are private pilots, there are tenants, there are flight school students, as well as the military and corporate jets, and they fly in, and they would love something to eat,” Miller said.
The restaurant would not be limited to just aviators, and the public would be welcome to dine there as well.
More information and a virtual tour of the space is available at flypgd.com/seeks-restaurant-operator.
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