Reader mail

QUESTION: Hi Patricia. I wanted to see if you knew what happened to a few restaurants that used to be around: Air Transport Command in New Castle; Saints and Sinners in Bear (I think); and the Front Porch had a fire at one point. Thanks! Stephanie

ANSWER: Air Transport Command restaurant, a part of the New Castle County landscape for more than 20 years, closed its doors on March 29, 2006, according to a handwritten sign on the door.

When the aviation-themed eatery near the New Castle Airport on U.S. 13 opened in 1984, themed restaurants were big business. The restaurant was named for the military's Air Transport Command, which had a support group at the former New Castle Air Base. Because some of the first women aviators to fly transport planes flew out of New Castle, the restaurant was dedicated to them. Flying heroes of World War II were commemorated at the restaurant where customers could pick up a set of headphones and listen to the ground-to-air instructions at the nearby control tower. Airplane parts were mounted on walls, jeeps and cannons were in the front and a taped history of the war played in restrooms. The eatery is owned by Specialty Restaurants Corp. of Long Beach, Calif., which operates several aviation eateries with both World War I and World War II motifs. Future plans for the site are unknown.

- Not sure what happened to Saints & Sinners at Summit North Marina (off Red Lion Road/Del. 71). But maybe you can get an idea of what the restaurant was like from Eric Ruth’s Nov. 2006 review of the eatery where he gave it a 1/2 star rating (poor to fair.) Ruth found “a distinct shortage of "authentic" New Orleans attitude. His take: "Only a worthwhile destination when diners steer clear of the poorly executed New Orleans-style dishes and stick with such traditional fare as fried shrimp and steak. The gorgeous canal-side setting makes up for the half-hearted attempt at Bourbon Street ambience, though any hope of relaxation is unsettled by over-eager rock bands.”

- An early morning blaze in Dec. 2003 destroyed the Front Porch, a popular Penny Hill-area bar and restaurant. “It looked like something out of a horror movie,” one witness told The News Journal after the fire.