Taunton airport commission votes to terminate lease of Air Restaurant after repeated lease violations; public urges reprieve

The Taunton Municipal Airport Commission voted unanimously May 28 to terminate the commercial lease with Air Restaurant and Catering LLC, operated by chef-owner Charles Herman, citing repeated violations of lease terms that the commission says continued despite multiple warnings and offers of assistance.

The decision follows months of written notices from the city’s law department and repeated meetings with the restaurant operator. The commission’s letters and staff reports listed alleged failures to maintain minimum hours of public operation, to keep the premises secure and clean, to submit updated insurance and licensing information and to remit delinquent rent. Assistant City Solicitor Thomas P. Gay Jr. and airport staff told the commission the violations had not been cured within the 15-day cure period provided by the lease.

Why it matters: The restaurant opened in 2024 as part of the airport’s effort to bring year-round business and foot traffic to the airport terminal. Commission members and city staff said the restaurant’s reliability matters to pilots and visiting customers and directly affects fuel sales and broader airport operations.

Commissioners read three formal letters from the law department into the record in March and May that documented the alleged violations and demanded cure or payment. One letter to Charles Herman listed initial lease payments that the city said were not made (an initial payment of $5,000, a $2,500 security deposit and $2,500 last month’s rent) and demanded certified funds; another dated March 5 said the office-space rent was delinquent for January–March 2025, totaling $955 and placed the lease in holdover. A later May 8 letter described the parties’ discussion about an agreed mutual termination date of May 31 and asked the tenant to provide an inventory and proposed valuation of restaurant equipment for the city to consider purchasing.

City officials described a pattern of missed or late openings that, they said, caused visiting pilots and customers to arrive and leave when the restaurant was not open. "We wanted a restaurant that was open and reliable," said Jay Patekis, executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development. Airport manager J. D. Espinosa told the commission that staff kept daily attendance logs showing repeated late openings and occasional closures outside the hours required by the lease. Patrick Del Russo, the city’s chief financial officer, reminded the commission that the city underwrote the space to encourage tenancy—offering two years’ rent relief and utilities—to make the location financially viable for a restaurateur.

In public comment, more than two dozen residents, customers and local officials urged the commission to give Herman more time. Many said the restaurant had brought new customers to a previously underused airport building and praised the food and community contributions. "Air is special. It's becoming a landmark," chef Herman said in his remarks to the commission, adding: "I am fully committed to working with the city of Taunton and the airport commission to create a successful and respected dining destination." Dozens of patrons described catering, teacher-appreciation events and regular visits that, they said, benefited the wider community.

City staff and the law department said they had repeatedly offered assistance and business counseling. Patekis said he connected the restaurant operator to SCORE and the Small Business Development Center and that the city had offered to talk to the operator’s lender about purchasing installed equipment to mitigate outstanding lender obligations. Patrick Del Russo said the city’s intent in those conversations was to avoid leaving the tenant with unnecessary debt and to simplify any separation if it occurred.

Commissioners said their efforts to help the business had limits because they act as landlord, not operator. "We're landlords. We're not running a business," Commissioner John Paul Thomas said. He and other commissioners described repeated opportunities to work on a corrective action plan, which they said went largely unanswered. Commissioners also cited health-department and building-department inspections earlier this year that resulted in corrective work; staff said those issues were addressed, but that other operational obligations continued to be unmet.

The commission recorded two procedural actions related to the matter before its final vote: placing the law department correspondence and the tenant’s May 19 response, including an equipment inventory, into the public record. After public comment, a motion to terminate the lease was made, seconded and approved on a roll-call vote; commissioners present voted "yes," and the chair announced the motion carried unanimously.

What the decision does: The commission’s vote constitutes a formal decision to move forward on lease termination proceedings. The letters placed on the record instruct the tenant to cure violations within 15 days or face termination steps; the March correspondence had already declared the lease in holdover status after a failure to provide the 60-day notice required to extend the lease that expired Jan. 31, 2025. The record the commission set confirms the city’s stated next steps include initiating formal legal proceedings if the parties cannot reach a mutual agreement to vacate or transfer equipment.

Details and unresolved items: The record shows the following specifics the commission relied on: the restaurant lease required six days of operation per week and at least 48 hours of public availability; rent for the separate office lease (about 191 square feet) was reported as delinquent for January–March 2025 totaling $955 but later brought current; initial lease payments (cited in a March letter) were claimed by the city to be unpaid; the tenant provided a May 19 response and an equipment inventory and asked for additional time beyond the May 31 termination date suggested by the city. The commission also documented that the tenant later remedied Board of Health inspection items.

Next steps and context: The commission did not adopt an immediate eviction order on the floor; the motion recorded is the formal board action authorizing termination steps. The law department told the commission that notices were hand-served and mailed, and that follow-up meetings occurred; attorney Thomas P. Gay Jr. said attempts to resolve issues amicably preceded the termination vote. Commissioner comments emphasized frustration over the lack of steady communication and inconsistent hours, while public speakers emphasized the restaurant's community value and asked the commission for a conditional extension. The commission chair said the city has gone to "great lengths" to support the tenant and that the vote reflected the commission’s duties as landlord.

Speakers who addressed the commission during the lease discussion and public comment included Charles Herman (owner, Air Restaurant and Catering LLC); Thomas P. Gay Jr. (assistant city solicitor); Patrick Del Russo (chief financial officer, City of Taunton); Jay Patekis (executive director, Office of Economic and Community Development); J. D. Espinosa (airport manager); Chairman Steve Turner; Commissioners John Paul Thomas, Zena Shivers, Steve Rogers, and others; and numerous community members who spoke in favor of keeping the restaurant in operation, including Douglas Cooper, Mark Knowlton, Kathleen Bollier, Ruth Herman, Joseph Morton, Max Bethany, Mel Hendrickson and several city councilors who urged a remedial path.

Ending: The commission’s termination vote marks the next formal phase in a dispute the city has sought to resolve through notice and repeated staff outreach. The commission and law department said they remain open to an amicable settlement that resolves unpaid balances and clarifies the disposition of equipment; the commission’s action makes clear, however, that it will move forward if violations are not cured within the remedies and timeframes specified in the record.