Just a month ago I wrote A glimpse of KSMO Santa Monica Airport, and today I saw the news that the restaurant “Typhoon” mentioned in the article will close down next month. I was very surprised. This restaurant is located right inside the airport with a great environment, where you can eat and drink while watching planes take off and land. The food is also quite good, and there are regular live music performances. Why is this happening?

It is said that the Santa Monica city government has long had plans to close the airport, intending to use the airport’s vast land for real estate development. Although the plan has faced strong opposition from the FAA, as well as the local aviation industry and private pilots, the city government recently made a very dark move: drastically raising the rent for facilities within the airport, forcing FBOs (Fixed Base Operators, service providers for aircraft offering maintenance, fueling, lounges, etc.) out of business.

Of course, this includes Typhoon. It is said that the city government increased its rent by more than three times at once, forcing the owner to close down next month. I just checked the restaurant’s homepage, and it is already inaccessible.

I chatted with the owner for a while when I went there to eat that day. He said he had spent a long time in Asia, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, and other places, so the restaurant’s cuisine is basically Asian. The taste is really quite good.

As an outsider, I feel really powerless about this. I’ll just post a few photos taken that day to commemorate a restaurant once loved by aviation enthusiasts.

2017/01/30 Update The decision to close the airport has been finalized. Closure date set for Santa Monica Airport

The City of Santa Monica has negotiated the authority to close the Santa Monica Airport on Dec. 31, 2028.