‘I want it open more than anybody’: Skyway Café fire repairs drag into second year, but owner remains steadfast

Spokane’s iconic Skyway Café remains closed indefinitely as repairs drag into the second year after a devastating fire.

The Felts Field greasy spoon was well-loved by aviationists and onlookers alike, with walls adorned in memorabilia and ceilings in model airplanes. Patrons could watch planes take off from behind their full plate of hash browns and eggs, or a comparably large sticky bun.

“The whole aviation community was seeped in that kind of thing,” Spokane Ninety-Nines chapter chair and hot air-balloon pilot Stephanie Hughes said. She compared the environment to the TV show “Cheers,” where “everybody knows your name.”

Even before the age of the Skyway, the location has served as a home away from home for flying-foodies. Built into the original terminal in 1924, it was first dubbed “The Zoom In” around 1932. The space has held upwards of 20 different businesses since, co-owner Sandra Melter said. It was Dorothy Harding who established the Skyway Café in the late ’80s. Melter’s mom worked for her for around 17 years. Melter’s sister, Teresa Maxfield, took over the business in the mid-’90s before Melter and her husband, John Melter, intervened in 2006.

The Ninety-Nines and other pilot groups would meet at the café every so often, but few members limited their visits to such gatherings. For many, a visit was an excuse to fly.

“You could fly into Felts Field and have lunch; that’s something that was very unique about Felts Field,” Hughes said, adding that other regional airports occasionally host breakfast “fly-ins,” but none their own year-round joint. “Bikers go to Beacon Hill. Rafters go to Barker put-in … Skyway was the meeting spot to run into your posse.”

Hughes said it was like the aviationists’ “clubhouse” burned down.

The fire on Jan. 9, 2025, erupted after a gas leak ignited on the griddle’s automatically lit pilot light, Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said. At that point, the kitchen was engulfed in a strong flame.

Windows shattered from the blast, Melter said, and all but “a few airplanes and a couple of pictures” were destroyed. The few that were salvaged might be too smoke damaged to re-display.

Though pledging at the time of the fire to reopen as soon as possible – a time frame she hoped would be only a few months – Melter has found herself pushing dates out from January 2026, to April, and most recently to June or July – a range she is now uncertain of.

“I’m feeling like I can’t put out another date out there for the public because it keeps getting pushed back,” she said, citing the ongoing financial negotiations as part of the holdup.

The other part of the holdup is the painstaking nature of structural repairs, which are handled by airport management. Melter and her café crew have not been able to begin their interior restoration process, since the restoration of the building’s skeleton is ongoing .

Alannah Toft, spokeswoman for Spokane Airports, which oversees Felts Field and Spokane International Airport, said in an email that the fire damaged the entire Felts Field terminal, as well as the café, leading to the entire roof, mechanical and electrical systems needing to be repaired. Further, she wrote, “the building’s vintage age has added unique considerations and complexities to its restoration.”

Even before repairs could begin, Toft said there was a carefully planned demolition phase. Now, Walker Construction is working to install electrical, duct work and drywall. To date, airport management has spent more than $1.3 million on recovery from the fire.

“As far as the café goes, restoration is still underway,” Toft wrote. “And as a longtime Spokane treasure, our team shares the community’s enthusiasm for its reopening and has been working closely with the parties involved to manage next steps.”

Melter worries about those next steps, though. She’s had new tables and chairs made, but she hasn’t ordered new appliances since there is no set opening date. After all, “it can’t be that the warranty’s up before you even plug it in,” she reasons.

Fifteen staffers have been on standby for the last 15 months, and Melter is living off of savings. Neither situation can last forever.

A GoFundMe posted at the time of the fire has raised around $6,500, which will go toward dishes, model airplanes, pictures and other small items destroyed, Melter said. After a jump in rates during the coronavirus pandemic, the Melters found themselves underinsured, so the donations “help a lot,” Sandra Melter said. Further, the community has donated around 200 model planes and 100 pictures.

Hughes said local pilots in the area will continue donating posters and memorabilia to “turn it into a true skyway – a true aviation café.”

“We’re excited to get our clubhouse back eventually,” she said. “It’s gonna be super packed when it opens. It’s gonna be like Chick-fil-A.”

There have even been talks of opening a second café at Coeur d’Alene’s Pappy Boyington Field, Melter said, though nothing is official yet. The prospective location would be at the end of the runway, planes taking off just over the building’s windows.

The current focus though, despite the setbacks, is getting Felts Field up and running again. Melter said the question is not “if” the café reopens, but “when.”

“I want it open more than anybody,” she said. “I’m determined, strong-willed and gonna get through this.”