As the old Adrian’s at the Airport restaurant was coming down, owner Demetre Exarhopoulos was walking through the brand-new Adrian’s next door, showing off the premises in the new Langley airport terminal building.
Among the features, full-size commercial kitchens on both of the two floors, with walk-in coolers and a spacious outdoor patio that will provide diners with an overhead view of the planes and helicopters coming and going at the airport.
As of Wednesday, Feb. 17, Exarhopoulos was still aiming to open the new restaurant before the end of the month, but there were “small things” that still need doing, and inspectors still have to declare it ready.
“I was hoping for Feb. 20 (Saturday),” he told the Langley Advance Times, but it is possible it may have to be postponed till March.
Demolition of the previous premises next door was under way, with an excavator tearing apart the aging two-storey wood former flight school and dumping the wreckage into a gigantic garbage container.
READ MORE: Adrian’s at the Airport move delayed again
The move, from the old to the new space, was supposed to happen more than a year ago, but a series of setbacks interfered with the schedule.
Among them, the imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on steel during construction of the terminal building, and a pandemic that prevented building trades crews from working together in close quarters to complete the interior.
Costs have been higher than expected, which is why the new Adrian’s will be using chairs from the old space for at least a few months, Exarhopoulos explained.
As he exited the new space into the foyer of the terminal building, Exarhopoulos was intercepted by a fan of the restaurant, who wanted to know if it was going to be opening soon.
Exarhopoulos said he was hopeful.
“You’re getting a lot of calls,” the fan advised.
“Your voice mail was full. I couldn’t leave a message.”
In the new space, Adrian’s will be operating in much larger premises, almost double the size of the old building.
Adrian’s, the new version, will seat 130 on the first level, 150 on the other, with the outdoor patio able to accommodate 80 to 100 guests.
READ ALSO: A look inside the new Langley Regional Airport terminal building
It is part of the new $10 million 55,000 sq-ft three-storey combination building, which has larger administration offices, and a new airport control tower rising another two storeys above it.
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After a series of construction setbacks, a move by Adrian’s at the Airport restaurant into new premises is finally about to happen, owner Demetre Exarhopoulus said. The old Adrian’s was being demolished on Wednesday, Feb. 17 (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
After a series of construction setbacks, a move by Adrian’s at the Airport restaurant into new premises is finally about to happen, owner Demetre Exarhopoulus said. He was on the second-floor outdoor patio of the new restaurant, overlooking the old Adrian’s which was being demolished on Wednesday, Feb. 17 (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
