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 failed to provide required insurance and required 60-day notice to extend a lease that expired Jan. 31, 2025. A separate March letter listed operational and maintenance failures including cleanliness, unauthorized signage and failure to secure the premises. A May 8 letter proposed a mutual termination date of May 31, 2025 if the parties could not reach an agreement about the lease and offered to explore purchase of restaurant equipment as part of wind-down discussions.

Charles Herman, who addressed the commission and the public during an extended public comment period, provided a May 19 response that included an inventory and depreciated values of equipment and explained recent medical and staffing challenges. Herman said he has been working to address problems and asked for more time and direct dialogue with the commission. "I remain committed to continuous improvement and to responding constructively to feedback," Herman said during public comment.

Dozens of residents, neighborhood business owners and elected officials spoke in support of the restaurant during the public-comment period. Kathleen Bollier, a local resident, described Air as "a gem" and said the restaurant drove new visitors to the airport terminal. Several speakers said they had eaten there repeatedly and urged the commission to work with Herman to craft a corrective action plan rather than pursue eviction.

City officials said attempts were made to help the business operationally. Jay Patekis, executive director of the Office of Economic & Community Development, said the city connected Herman to free business counseling and SCORE mentors and adjusted the lease terms to make the opportunity viable. Del Russo said the city had discussed purchasing equipment to avoid leaving the operator with unsecured debt, describing the idea as a pragmatic option to reduce lender exposure, not a condition to force a quiet exit.

The commission also noted repeated operational reports from airport staff and managers that pilots and patrons arrived expecting the restaurant to be open per posted hours and found it closed. Airport manager J. D. Espinosa said staff kept an attendance log showing repeated late openings and closures that did not conform to the lease. Assistant city solicitor Thomas Gay said the combination of violations and the failure to meet the material lease requirement led the law department to prepare notices and, ultimately, the commission to consider termination.

Formal actions from the May 28 meeting included motions to place the city letters and Herman's equipment inventory on the public record and the commission's unanimous vote to terminate the restaurant lease. The commission did not adopt a new termination date at the meeting beyond the notices already issued; the law department and the commission reserved the right to pursue legal remedies if the parties do not reach an agreement.

Discussion v. decision: commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the action reflected lease enforcement, not a judgment on the quality of the food. Commissioner John Paul Thomas said the city had gone "above and beyond" to support the tenant but that consistent noncompliance with the material terms of the lease left the commission little choice. The termination vote was a formal decision by the commission; separate staff and legal follow-up will determine next steps, including possible negotiation over equipment and scheduling of any eviction process.

Proper names in the record include Air Restaurant and Catering LLC; Charles Herman (owner/operator); Thomas P. Gay Jr. (assistant city solicitor); Patrick Del Russo (city chief financial officer); Jay Patekis (executive director, Office of Economic & Community Development); J. D. Espinosa (airport manager); and the Taunton Municipal Airport Commission.

The commission and city officials said they remain open to a negotiated resolution if the operator and lender engage directly with the law department and airport staff; Herman supplied an equipment inventory and asked for more time to plan a transition if required. For now, the commission's action shifts the dispute toward legal and administrative follow-up rather than further public comment at the commission dais.