Will Aviator’s Restaurant return? Future uncertain for beloved Sacramento eatery
A cosmetic kitchen floor repair at Aviator’s Restaurant was supposed to take a few weeks. Six months later, the longtime Sacramento Executive Airport institution remains closed after crews uncovered crumbling concrete, corroded rebar, asbestos and mold.
The discovery left Sacramento County facing a potentially major structural repair and restaurant owner Cheung-Sang Chik wondering when — or whether — he would return to the airport restaurant he opened 25 years ago.
“I want this legacy finished in this restaurant with my customers,” Chik said, adding he is not thinking about leaving the airport.
Chik, however, remains concerned with how long the repairs could stretch.
The Sacramento County Department of Airports estimates Aviator’s could remain closed for about two years, though officials said the timeline could change after engineers determine the full extent of the damage.
Despite the uncertain timeline and cost, Chik and county officials said last week that they remain committed to reopening Aviator’s.
“The budget is whatever it takes to get it back open,” Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy said last week during a community meeting about the restaurant repairs.
The damage uncovered
Contractors discovered the extent of the deterioration in January after removing tile and black mastic from Aviator’s kitchen floor.
More than 21 feet of continuous rust on rebar was in front of the coolers. At least nine other areas of visible corrosion were identified, according to a county inspection, and inspectors documented additional areas where damage could exist beneath the surface. The concrete surrounding portions of the rebar is flaking.
“I was shocked,” Chik said.
Other tests throughout the kitchen confirmed mold in four locations and asbestos in the black flooring mastic.
The county is estimating repairs could take two years.
A more comprehensive structural investigation to determine the extent of the damage — and the budget and timeline for repairs — cannot safely be conducted until temporary floor supports are installed in August, said Stephen Clark, deputy director of airport commercial development.
Clark said the supports are needed because equipment used in the investigation is too heavy and difficult to maneuver safely on the deteriorated floor.
Before the structural investigation can begin, cooktops, refrigerators and a walk-in freezer have to be removed, and the mold and asbestos have to be remediated.
Engineers are considering several preliminary repair options, according to a February email from a structural engineer involved in the project. Those include replacing the deteriorated slab, fortifying it with fiber-reinforced polymer or removing damaged concrete and corroded rebar and replacing them with new materials.
Although the damage appears to be contained to the kitchen, Clark said, crews may need to tear up additional portions of the floor to safely rebuild.
A longtime fixture at Executive Airport
Aviator’s Restaurant has served diner-style food at Executive Airport since Chik opened it in 2000.
The longtime local favorite offers eggs and French toast for breakfast and burgers, pasta and patty melts for lunch. Customers can watch planes take off and land through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the airport tarmac while dining beneath suspended model airplanes.
The restaurant’s wood-paneled walls and ceilings and aviation-themed decor are important to longtime customers, who asked county officials whether Aviator’s would retain its familiar and nostalgic feel after repairs.
“Is it going to have the same kind of character it had previously?” one attendee asked.
More than 80 people, many of whom Chik identified as longtime customers, attended the gathering at Belle Cooledge Library, less than 2 miles from Sacramento Executive Airport. The city of Sacramento owns the airport and leases it to Sacramento County. The county’s airports are financed through an enterprise fund rather than the county general fund.
Kennedy, whose district includes the airport, said the turnout demonstrated Aviator’s importance to the community. He also said he received “about 3000 postcards” after Sacramento County declined in 2023 to renew Aviator’s lease, instead offering a month-to-month agreement while accepting bids for the space. County officials described the move as a routine administrative procedure.
The lease was renewed in March 2025 after an outpouring of community support, including a Change.org petition that drew more than 4,300 signatures. The five-year lease is set to expire in 2030.
During lease negotiations, the county said it would refurbish the floors, which Chik said began to feel uneven about three years ago.
History of leaks
The structural damage was discovered after years of water leaking through the restaurant floor into the basement below, according to Chik, county officials and records obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
Kennedy said the county “had no reason to believe” the floors would be as bad as they were.
“I think that all of us now, with hindsight, would go into a project thinking it could,” he said, referring to the floor’s construction and its location beneath a commercial kitchen.
The 4½-inch concrete slab was built under 1950s construction standards that allowed rebar to be placed closer to the surface, Kennedy said. That made the steel reinforcement more vulnerable to water intrusion and corrosion beneath a kitchen where water was regularly present.
Chik said leaks started nearly one year after Aviator’s Restaurant opened. The drips would develop on the days he pressure washed the kitchen floor, so about 2003 he switched to wet-mopping once a week, he said.
Still, Chik said county officials continued to raise concerns about water leaking into the basement.
The leaks, Airport Manager Ron Ogle said in an internal email in late 2024, “have gone on for so long.”
In a November 2024 “moisture assessment,” the county safety office documented about 10 buckets collecting water on the basement floor. Cracks and staining were visible on the ceiling. Inside Aviator’s kitchen, the report noted minor grout and tile cracking, food waste and debris in three of six floor drains, one drain without a cover and water draining from a refrigerator, ice machine and soda fountain machine.
The report said the “water impacted and damaged building materials” had to be repaired to comply with Cal-OSHA standards.
The Department of General Services noted that the ongoing basement leaks were “likely due to a combination of failing floor drain plumbing and tenant activities directly above the basement area,” according to the report.
County records show that concerns about the leaks increasingly focused on Chik’s cleaning practices, leaking equipment and the condition of floor drains. Chik disputed some of the findings and said he stopped pressure washing the kitchen floor years earlier.
Inspections every six weeks
Airport inspections conducted in July, August and October last year also repeatedly documented concerns about floor drain covers. Chik maintained that the drains were “properly installed” and some had a double screen.
County airport spokesperson Lindsay Myers said the number of inspections rose in 2025 to bring Sacramento Executive Airport closer to inspection practices at Sacramento International Airport, where walk-throughs happen every six weeks.
Chik said the increased inspections were excessive and amounted to harassment.
The rise in inspections, earlier uncertainty over Aviator’s lease and open-ended construction timeline lead Chik to worry about his future at Sacramento Executive Airport, he said. Still, Chik said he remains committed to staying through the end of his lease and hopes to eventually celebrate his retirement with his customers.
Clark and Kennedy said the county wants Aviator’s Restaurant to reopen, though they would not provide details about ongoing lease negotiations. The Department of Airports has waived rent for the past seven months and is coordinating the repairs.
Clark said he has no interest in assigning blame for the floor deterioration, adding that it was due to “a combination of factors.”
“Our interest,” he said, “is getting it open safely as quickly as possible.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
