At the beginning of September, owners at the Greene County Airport Restaurant announced that the restaurant would be closing down its operations for good. 

The restaurant had been on temporary leave after a fire broke out in the airport terminal building in 2021. According to the owner of the restaurant, the fire had caused smoke and water damage to restaurant facilities, forcing the owners to close their doors until repairs could be made.

Now, a year and a half later, the owners announced their retirement to the local community.

Owner Kathy Kiger noted that the decision to close permanently was not an easy one.

“I thought about it for a long time,” Kathy Kiger said when she joined her daughter to talk about the restaurant. “I choked up every time I had to tell someone or someone said something about the restaurant”

Before she became the owner of the restaurant, Kathy Kiger worked for the restaurant under the previous owner’s management. The restaurant space went up for sale after the previous owners closed their doors. 

“They were advertising for someone and I thought ‘Yeah, I can do this’,” Kathy Kiger said.

Kathy Kiger obtained ownership of the Airport Restaurant in 2000.

“The first five years were kind of hard. Just like, getting people here because it was kind of out of the way from town,” Kathy Kiger said. “This part wasn’t built up yet. We had no Walmart. [There was] no reason to come this way.” 

After failed attempts of drawing customers by extending hours of operations, the restaurant finally started to see success when the land around the airport began to develop. 

“It just started building and building. We had regulars in the morning, a table full of regulars at lunch, people were calling in and reserving tables, people were calling in to go and it just went nuts,” Kathy Kiger said. 

The restaurant started off with a staff of Kathy Kiger’s family, including her daughter, Alison Kiger, who moved back home roughly five years ago to help with the operations.

But the staff was not the only family within the building. The customers became as close as a family as well. 

“We saw the same people every day,” Alison Kiger said.

“And then it was just so homey. You didn’t have to know everyone. Everyone made you feel welcom,” Kathy Kiger added.

“And then it was just so homey. You didn’t have to know everyone. Everyone made you feel welcome,” Kathy Kiger added.

The restaurant prided itself on the quality, local food that it served, including homemade pies from local bakers and in-house cooked roasts.

“We had a ranch dressing we made there that everybody liked,” Kathy Kiger said. “They would use it for dipping.”

“I think I’m going to do a side hustle for it,” Alison Kiger joked.

From newborn babies to elders, the restaurant saw a large diversity in the customers that walked through the doors. Waynesburg University students were seen at the tables often

“There were college kids that were like, “I can eat 10 of those pancakes!’ and they were just so nice,” Kathy Kiger said.

Another group that was frequently seen in the restaurant was the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, which held their Golf Outing committee meetings there since the restaurant opened.

They called themselves The Breakfast Club.

“When you went in, you would see people you knew,” Melody Longstreth, director of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, said. “They were really good about making sure you felt welcome like that and setting off a side for you.”

Longstreth felt saddened when she heard the restaurant would not be reopening. 

“I personally am going to miss going there for those committee meetings and just stopping in general,” Longstreth said. “They had really good food and you were treated well and it was just a really nice place to go so it’s a shame that we’re going to lose that in the community. They’re going to be missed.”

For the Kigers, early mornings and busy days in the restaurant meant more than just making money.

“It was definitely more than a job,” Kathy Kiger said. “The regulars would call and say ‘Hey, I’m not going to be in today. I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t worry.’ They would call off as if they were coming to work, but it was definitely more than that. You meet a lot of nice people.”

For now, Kiger Kiger will be looking toward continuing her position as a tax collector in Jackson Township and watching her grandchildren’s sporting events.  

According to the Greene County Commissioners, bids for the old Airport Restaurant property are now being accepted. Proposals are due by Oct. 14.