This SC Airport Restaurant Was Slammed by a Food Network Show. Now It’s Leaving. Here’s What’s Next
A Greenville restaurant slammed by Robert Irvine on the Food Network show Restaurant Impossible has lost its lease at the Greenville Downtown Airport.
Runway Cafe operated for 15 years in a building that was once a flight school on the apron of the municipal airport, South Carolina’s busiest general aviation facility.
The Greenville Airport Commission announced this week they had selected a new vendor but did not say who other than that it was a local group.
Robert Hoover, spokesman for the commission, said four operators met the criteria for consideration, including the owner of the Runway Cafe. The company selected will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner in a family-friendly concept with an eye toward attracting those private pilots who fly to locations for lunch, known as the $100 hamburger.
The commission was asked not to reveal the identity of the tenant until firm plans are made for construction and an opening date set.
The new tenant will also use the hangar next door to the restaurant for events, Hoover said.
Runway Cafe will close May 26, which is Memorial Day weekend.
Owner Lem Winesett could not be reached for comment.
Winesett took over the business after the Restaurant Impossible show aired in 2022 and his business partner and college friend Mike Bliss decided to sell.
Bliss had the original idea for the Runway Cafe after owning two coffee shops, one in the Greenville Downtown Library and another in the Open Book bookstore, which closed.
At one time, Runway Cafe had 70 seats inside, 120 outside and a conference room. After COVID, only counter service was offered and hours shortened.
Irvine did not find much to his liking when his crew filmed in October 2022.
The salad was useless, the Top Gun hamburger overcooked and without seasoning and service was slow.
Children bawled and ran around. And the decor consisted of photos of airplanes on the wall, model airplanes hanging from the ceiling and pictures of planes glued to tabletops and lacquered over.
“I’m honestly disgusted,” he said.
The positive Irvine found was the location. He called it the most unusual ever featured on the show.
Hoover said with Greenville increasingly becoming known for its restaurants and improvements made on the airport site, the commission felt a new concept was needed.
“It’s a hard thing to do,” he said. “They were part of the airport family for that long.”
The airport property also includes a children’s park, Military History Museum and Takeoff Mini Golf. A skate park and BMX track are in the planning stages.
The site also connects to the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a bike and walking path that originally extended from downtown Greenville north to Travelers Rest but now has a number of spurs all over Greenville County.
