Sky Lounge of Ewing debuts at Trenton-mercer Airport
EWING — Travelers flying out of the Trenton-Mercer Airport can now pack one less item in their carry-on luggage — food.
County officials gathered on Tuesday for a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open The Sky Lounge of Ewing, a new full-service restaurant located steps away from the passenger holding area on the second floor.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for me to try something different, and with Frontier setting up operations here, this seemed like a wonderful opportunity for my company,” said owner Jim Hines.
The 49-year-old entrepreneur has a long standing relationship with the county and as a caterer. Hines began his career dishing up fine fare over 30 years ago and started Mercer Oaks Catering at the Mercer County Country Club just about 10 years ago.
“It has been such a great experience working with the Parks Department and with the County to open this restaurant,” he continued.
The tavern type eatery, which had a soft opening approximately one month ago, offers a full line of alcoholic beverages and fresh continental cuisine which can be enjoyed seated at the dark oak finished bar while watching the latest news on three flat screened TVs or can be picked and packed to go.
“The food is just terrific I am very impresesed,” said Frenchtown Diane Mallon, who enjoyed a seated lunch at the restaurant before boarding her first flight on Frontier to Ft. Lauderdale. “I am so pleasantly surprised, the airport is so convenient, parking was easy and a great restaurant … this sure beats the heck out of flying out of Philadelphia.”
According to the menu, dishes vary in price from $5 to just under $10 and drinks, both hard and soft, are all under $8 a glass.
“This is a great day for the airport,” said County Executive Brian Hughes, who was flanked by several locally elected officials, as he cut the green ribbon officially launching a new small business in Ewing. “We have seen more than 50,000 passengers come through the airport, since Frontier has been flying out of here, and we expect more in the coming months,” continued Hughes.
Although officially called the Trenton-Mercer Airport, the ground of this newly revived transportation jewel is actually in Ewing Township, and since the launch of Frontier Airline’s East Coast operations in January, Ewing’s Mayor has not let an opportunity go by without highlighting this geographical fact.
“I am really happy to see Ewing in the name of the restaurant,” said Mayor Bert Steinmann, “I’m still hoping we can get it into the official name of the airport at some point,” he joked.
The monthly rent for the restaurant, according to Hines, is $3,500. However he believes the restaurant will be successful thanks to the recent surge in arrivals and departures from the regional airport.
“Even when the airport shuts down for construction in the fall, I think workers and construction crew will come by for something to eat,” said Hines.
WASHINGTON — Capital One Financial Corp. is paying $3.5 million to settle federal civil charges of underreporting as much as $123 million in losses on auto loans in the months preceding the financial crisis.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that Capital One understated its auto loan losses in financial reports for the second and third quarters of 2007 when they came in higher than the bank expected.
Capital One, based in McLean, Va., is the sixthlargest U.S. bank based on deposits. Most of the profits in its auto finance business came from loans to consumers with weak credit histories, the SEC said.
Two former Capital One executives agreed to pay a total $135,000 in fines to settle the SEC charges. The bank and the executives neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.
PORTLAND, Maine — The parent company of three Maine newspapers is accusing its former CEO of misappropriating more than half a million dollars of company money on vacations, a $36,000 vehicle for his son and other expenses.
In a letter to employees Wednesday, publisher Lisa DeSisto says MaineToday Media received insurance money under its employee theft policy that former CEO Richard Connor allegedly took for personal use from 2009 to 2011.
DeSisto says the unauthorized spending totaled $538,000, including $287,000 in salary increases and bonuses, $90,000 in personal expenses charged to company credit cards and $36,000 for a vehicle for his son.
Connor tells the Portland Press Herald the allegations are wrong and that most of the expenses were legitimate. He is now CEO of Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H.