Taunton Airport Commission votes to terminate Air Restaurant lease after repeated lease violations; public urges extension

The Taunton Municipal Airport Commission voted unanimously May 28 to terminate the commercial lease for Air Restaurant and Catering LLC, operator of AIR restaurant at 2 Westco Drive in East Taunton, after the city says the tenant repeatedly failed to meet lease requirements.

The vote followed several formal notices from the city, a review of inspections and service records, and public comment from more than two dozen patrons and local business leaders who urged the commission to give owner Charles Herman another chance. The commission recorded multiple cited violations including failure to maintain required hours and days of operation, unpaid rent for January–March 2025, missing insurance documentation, unauthorized signage and alterations to the premises, cleanliness and sanitation problems, and failure to provide required notices to licensing authorities.

The city’s March 5 and related letters — signed by Assistant City Solicitor Thomas P. Gay Jr. — demanded the tenant cure the lease violations within 15 days and warned that failure to do so could lead to termination. A subsequent May 8 letter documents a proposed mutual termination date of May 31 and requests an inventory and valuation of restaurant equipment should the city pursue acquiring any assets.…