There’s a bumpy ride ahead for this little landing-strip cafe north of Fort Worth
The popular and quirky Beacon Cafe is now behind a security gate and may have to close because its private airport neighbors are limiting access to Hicks Field, owner Christie Bingham said Thursday.
As of Friday, according to Bingham, someone from Beacon Cafe will have to work the gate and admit customers for breakfast or lunch at the 9-year-old cafe at 171 Aviator Drive overlooking airplanes landing at the airfield north of Saginaw.
“I’d like to stay, because it’s a great community,” Bingham said, “but a closed gate will turn people away.”
She opened Beacon Cafe 287 last year at 12721 Business U.S. 287 North near the Avondale community, about 2 miles north.
“But the airport location is by far the best location,” she said.
Some neighbors don’t like having a busy cafe, she said.
“They cannot stand having somebody successful out there.”
Homeowners association officials have not responded to an email late Thursday seeking comment.
For years, the Beacon was the nearby neighborhood’s only restaurant and drew families for Sunday brunch specials like pineapple upside-down pancakes.
The neighborhood has more options now, but the Beacon remains an oddity and a family outing.
Both Beacon locations will open Friday at 25% capacity, she said.
“My folks need the money to help them dig out of their bills,” she said.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
