Georgetown, Del., May 6, 2008: A familiar name on the local restaurant scene will land for business at the Sussex County Airport this summer.

Sussex County officials Tuesday, May 6, 2008, announced that owners of the Lighthouse Restaurant in Lewes will open their newest location inside the County’s terminal building, on Rudder Lane near Georgetown. The restaurant is expected to open in early June.

The new restaurant, the Lighthouse Landing Restaurant, replaces a previous eatery, whose owner closed operations in March. The Lighthouse Landing will be open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week and feature an aeronautical theme, with many of the same menu items as its namesake in Lewes.

County officials expect to execute a five-year lease within the next two weeks.

Deputy County Administrator Harold F. Godwin said Lighthouse Restaurant owner Paul Buchness has more than 25 years of proven experience running a successful local business, and that was an attractive quality to the County as it searched for a new tenant.

“We wanted an operator who had knowledge and experience in the business, someone who would offer our neighbors and patrons a quality, family-style restaurant that can also serve as the ‘welcome mat’ for our guests and visitors,” Mr. Godwin said. “We know we have such a partner in that effort with Mr. Buchness.”

The new restaurant is an important amenity for the Sussex County Airport, a general aviation field that records more than 50,000 landings and takeoffs yearly, from small single-engine planes to corporate jets.

Sussex County Airport Manager Jim Hickin said the restaurant will give airport users and the public at large a dining option that is both accessible and affordable, and it will complement other airport services.

“We believe this is a feature that makes our airport that much more attractive to users and the flying public,” Mr. Hickin said. “And with a strong business presence in the airport complex’s industrial park, with some 1,700 employees, we believe the new restaurant will be a welcomed addition.”

The new restaurant also represents an economic development opportunity for the County government. Under tentative terms of the lease, the County will earn approximately $140,000 in income during the life of the lease, money that will be reinvested in the airport and other economic development ventures.

Sussex County will continue to own the leased space, as well as the kitchen equipment, while the new operator will own the business and manage the restaurant. The Lighthouse Landing Restaurant expects to have approximately 20 employees on its staff.

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