Aviation View - Oct 2023

104 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 gathering spot. An airport restaurant in a place like this is a difficult thing to do without the town supporting it. This town supports this one. They have 100,000 customers annually.” Bonnie Cafe’s reputation for excellent food and friendly service has even attracted unexpected guests, such as a Coast Guard Reconnaissance Search and Rescue plane’s crew, who stopped by for dinner during their cross-country flight. Future goals for Mount Vernon Outland Airport include the development of a partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a military contract field. “I want to do with the military what we’re doing with the corporate, leveraging the location, the facilities, the infrastructure, the service philosophy, the restaurant,” Collins emphasizes. Alongside pursuing the DLA contract, the airport will continue its effective aviation training programs to prepare individuals for future enterprises. “You don’t have to go to a top aviation facility to get in the cockpit of an airliner or a military airplane. There are all kinds of pathways to it. You just have to find someone to help you get there. And I want to be that somebody to help them get there,” he concludes. A Hub of Hospitality The airport’s popular restaurant, Bonnie Cafe, is another success story. Since its establishment four years ago Brian and Melissa Hubbard, the cafe’s owners, have been excellent partners for the airport. Collins elaborates, “It’s become the town’s PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n SSM Health ssmhealth.com/Illinois SSM Health in Illinois serves approximately 230,000 people in a nine-county area. As one of the largest health care organizations in Southern Illinois, SSM Health in Illinois includes two regional hospitals located in Mount Vernon and Centralia, more than 100 active physicians, eight family health centers and several specialty programs. n Bonnie Cafe www.thebonniecafe.com