Taunton airport commission votes to terminate Air Restaurant lease 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, the operator of the Air Restaurant at 2 Westcoast Drive in East Taunton, after city letters and commission monitoring found repeated lease violations including failure to meet required hours of operation, problems with cleanliness, missing updated insurance documentation and delinquent rent.

Assistant City Solicitor Thomas P. Gay Jr. told the commission that the March notices required the tenant to "cure all of the above violations" within 15 days and that the lease includes a material requirement that the restaurant maintain six days of operation and at least 48 hours of public availability each week.

The vote ended a months-long dispute that city officials say began after the restaurant opened in 2024 and after the city provided incentives and financial support to help the business establish itself. Patrick Del Russo, chief financial officer for the city of Taunton, told the commission the city provided a build-out package and a lease arrangement that included two years of rent and utilities waived to encourage a tenant to occupy the formerly vacant slab.

City letters read into the record list specific alleged violations. A March 5 letter to owner Charles Herman demanded $955 in unpaid office rent for January through March 2025 and said the tenant…