Let’s go out for lunch. There are lots of options. Some are sit-down restaurants. Some have drive-up windows. How about a fly-in restaurant? Today we’ll learn about a remarkable fly-in restaurant in rural Kansas where customers can literally fly or drive in for a meal.
In recent weeks we have learned about aviation pioneers such as Clyde Cessna, Walter and Olive Ann Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. Today we’ll visit a modern-day restaurant which bears Stearman’s name. Yvette Ysidro and her husband Monte are the owners of the Stearman Bar and Grill at Stearman Field, a private airport near Benton northeast of Wichita.
The original owners of this airport were private pilots Dwayne and Julie Clemens. They built a hangar here, including a place where people could drink coffee and get a sandwich out of the fridge. As it became more popular, it evolved into a café called Stearman Bar and Grill.