Sioux Gateway Airport (KSUX), Sioux City, Iowa: Cafe has lost $81,900 since '09

SIOUX CITY | A city-operated cafe and gift shop at Sioux Gateway Airport is anticipated to lose $8,000 this fiscal year, pushing total losses to more than $81,900 since 2009. Officials say they’re working to address the problem.

"We're closing the gap, and as we get more flights, we'll make more money," said Airport Director Curt Miller.

The city last year took over running Marna's Cafe and Gift Shop, which an outside contractor previously operated. The glass-lined corner of the city-owned airport has sandwiches, beverages, snacks, books/magazines and travel items. It is the only retail and dining operation in the terminal, which has two daily flights.

According to city financial records, the last time Marna's made a profit -- $1,141 -- was in 2008, when the airport had eight daily flights. Since then, expenses have outstripped revenues every year -- by $7,383 in 2009, $16,042 in 2010, $25,436 in 2011 and $25,079 in 2012.

Even though a contractor operated the business, the losses were passed on to the city, which covered the income shortfall.

As of Feb. 28, losses for fiscal year 2013 were $5,380. Based on sales projections and city estimates, revenue is expected to drop an additional $2,620 by the end of the fiscal year, on June 30.

Dave Bernstein, president of the seven-member board that runs the airport, said officials are closely monitoring revenues and are taking steps to stem the losses. He said conditions have improved since the city stepped in.

"My personal perspective is, I think it's important we have that open," he said. "Our goal is to at least break even, if not making a profit."

EXPANDED SERVICE MAY BE KEY

Marna's was created in 2011 when the 1940s terminal was renovated. It's named after longtime airport office worker Marna Samuel.

The previous terminal had a full-service restaurant managed by a series of operators over the years, including It's All Good Barbecue. The catering company Distinctive Gourmet assumed running the site in 2008 and continued at the cafe after the 2011 airport renovation.

Distinctive Gourmet, now called Centerplate, also provides catered food to the Sioux City Convention and Tyson Events centers.

During the period between 2008 and 2012, the airport was dealt a series of blows, including the loss of carrier Frontier Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy.

The financial crises and recession also harmed air travel numbers. In 2011, the airport's lone carrier, Delta Air Lines, which offered three flights a day, said it could no longer afford to fly to Sioux City and other small communities.

The U.S. Department of Transportation eventually awarded American Airlines a $1.5 million annual subsidy to operate two daily flights at Sioux Gateway. The flights are to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. American officials have said they may add a second route, possibly to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Bernstein said café sales should improve as more people take advantage of the flights. The city in August received a $160,000 federal grant to help market the Chicago service. Airport officials have said flights have been about 85 percent full.

"Right now, we've got very solid numbers with our service to Chicago," Bernstein said. "I think that reinforces the demand to use our airport. We would love to see expanded service with American. It just takes time."

LIMITED HOURS, MENU

Bernstein said airport board members have considered closing Marna's and having just vending machines, although they concluded visitors need amenities, even at a small airport.

"The restaurant is especially needed when there is a flight that is delayed due to crazy weather – ice, storms or fog – and people are stuck there an hour and a half extra," he said.

The size of the airport is one of the selling points of Sioux Gateway, said traveler Paige Moser, of Vermillion, S.D., who sat sipping drinks at Marna's before boarding a plane for Chicago recently.

"I like the smaller airports," she said. "It's not a zoo out there."

It costs $2.2 million a year to operate the airport.

Bernstein said the board has addressed the Marna's issue by limiting hours. The business is now open 5-7 a.m. and noon-3 p.m. Sundays-Fridays and for just two hours Saturday mornings. The menu also has been scaled back to sandwiches instead of full-scale meals.

He said airport officials are confident profits will grow as passenger numbers increase. The café, he said, is vital to making sure passengers pick Sioux Gateway.

"We want to make their travel experience more customer friendly," he said.

Story and Reaction/Comments:  http://siouxcityjournal.com