ILLUSTRATION BY MATT LEHMAN
Whoever thought a restaurant with a war theme could be romantic? A guy named David Tallichet, who envisioned a half–bombed-out French farmhouse, the headquarters for WWI American flyers, as a restaurant serving American food. He opened the first 94th Aero Squadron—named for the famous WWI unit—near a civil aviation airport in California and later opened other locations, including one here, near McDonnell Douglas, in 1978.
It was a surprisingly romantic-looking building despite the military artifacts. Inside were six fireplaces, and the dining room floor was stair-stepped to allow more diners to see the runway. At night, the lights were dimmed for better viewing, and headphones at the tables allowed customers to listen to the (pretaped) chatter between air traffic control and planes. All of these touches made it a popular date spot. It was a well-loved happy hour hangout, too, particularly among McDonnell Douglas employees.
The place also got a surprising amount of political traffic, probably because it was near the airport. During his 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton hosted a meet-and-greet there, one of several similar events over the course of the restaurant’s existence.
In 2003, the St. Louis location closed. Today, four others—including the Van Nuys original—remain.
