Flying Under Orange & Blue Skies Story and Photos by Santiago Chacin
For anyone native to the Sunshine State, traveling to Gainesville means taking your car and driving either northbound or southbound on the Interstate 75. But what if you don’t have a car? What if you are out of state? Or both? For the past half century, a solution to this has been the Gainesville Regional Airport, located at the northeastern section of the city by Waldo Road and 39th Avenue. “I remember landing here and thinking, ‘oh my God, what a cute little airport,’” recalled Erin Porter of her first time arriving to Gainesville around 30 years ago as a student. Now, after spending years working in aviation across the country and returning to Gainesville, Porter is the manager of marketing and public relations for Gainesville Regional Airport (GRA). GRA is now an indispensable part of the city’s economy as it offers commercial flights to the public, in addition to carrying out military operations, medical missions and transporting air cargo.
“Today, most of our travelers are business-oriented, as we are not really a leisure or resort destination.” This was not always the case. At the time of its construction by the U.S. Engineer Department, the field was referred to as the Alachua Army Airfield. The facility was used by the Army Air Corp and the Army Air Force from 1941 to 1948 during World War II. Initially, the airport was named John R. Allison Airport, which was dedicated to him, a local and University of Florida graduate who served vigorously during the war. According to Porter, the War Assets Administration deeded the facility to the city in 1948 as a civil airport. It functioned under both its original name and as Gainesville Municipal Airport until it was officially renamed to Gainesville Regional Airport in October 1977. In its first decade as a public airport, Eastern Airlines served Gainesville with flights to Tallahassee,
“The airport is a lifeline to and from our community,” Porter said. “Not only by providing an easy gateway to and from the world via our commercial flights, but we also fly 1,500 medical missions annually.” One of these includes the “blood plane,” which delivers blood, tissue and tubules to a four-state area nearly every day except Christmas and Easter. Porter notes that the airport is a vital part for the university as it is the university's biggest beneficiary. “[The airport benefits] the Gator Nation, including faculty, staff, students and their families and the entities with whom UF does business,” she said.
“In 2019, GRA saw record-breaking passenger movement, with over 550,000 travelers flying in and out of Gainesville." 36 The Origins Is sue
Jacksonville and Ocala then began offering nonstop flights to Atlanta and Miami by the 1970s. In addition, Air Florida began serving Gainesville in the late 1970s with flights to Miami, Tampa and Ocala. Alachua County Tourism Manager Jessica Hurov has noted that the airport’s traffic was growing exponentially pre-pandemic. “In 2019, GRA saw record-breaking passenger movement, with over 550,000 travelers flying in and out of Gainesville,” Hurov said. “This represents a 17% increase in airport utilization over the prior year.” Even amid a pandemic, the airport continues to grow, with the latest milestone including a 15,200-square-foot expansion that will add two gates and convenient passenger amenities in late spring 2021.
A Small Business w ith a Large Impact: Luke’s Bagels Story and Photos by Zahra Khan
Bagels can be traced back to 14th century Poland but are most notable in the current century in New York City, according to The Atlantic. Yet, driving past 620 S Main St. in Gainesville, you will notice a tiny gray building with a line leading from it that is anything but tiny. You’ll wonder what is drawing so many people out at 7 a.m. on a Saturday as you pass its street-facing window and, in a blur, read the graffiti, “Luke’s Bagels.” Luke Vescovi was only 21 when the first pitch to his family for “Luke’s New York Bagel Shop” came to fruition in early 2020. While still an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, he went to his parents in New Jersey with the idea. He is now 22 and currently finishing his last semester of graduate school while managing Luke’s Bagels. Leading up to the Luke’s Bagels debut, the Vescovi family tweaked their recipe over two years. Building off the No. 2 bagel recipe in the world, Vescovi’s mother also had 30 years of baking experience from previous employment at a bagel shop. To make their bagels even more authentic, the shop uses a New York WaterMaker, which ensures the mineral concentration, pH and other elements are the same as NYC’s water, according to Vescovi.
Relocating from New Jersey to Gainesville with Luke’s Bagels is still a dream that may seem out of the ordinary, but Vescovi explained that he chose the city while still in school at UF because he wanted a place he was familiar with. He added that there wasn’t anything like his bagel shop nearby and the customer base already existed. The shop made its premiere in the city on March 25, 2020, just after the start of COVID-19’s impact on Florida. Yet, Vescovi revealed their experience opening a business in the middle of the pandemic was an advantage, considering that coronavirus safety measures were the shop’s standard from the beginning. With the shop taking orders from a walk-up window, its style of service never changed. Vescovi said there was a challenge in hiring during a pandemic, but opening a new business wasn’t as difficult as some may think. “We didn’t have anything to lose. There were still people who needed to eat food. We were still a brand-new breakfast scene. We saw that our impact would be as big if not a little bigger.” Starting with only three other family members as employees, his parents and his sibling, Vescovi said they made 300 to 400 bagels a day. Now, with about 50 employees, the shop requires roughly 15 people a day to operate and make around 1,000 bagels daily. “Small businesses are important everywhere,” Vescovi said. “At the end of the day we are people, my family is a family. There is a real Luke behind this, there is a real family behind this who basically moved from New Jersey to start this. This is our life."
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