Name: Restaurant provides free meals for San Diego air traffic controllers
Uploaded: 2025-11-08T05:07:26.131Z
Duration: 1 min 53 s
Description: Restaurant provides free meals for San Diego air traffic controllers during shutdown.

Restaurant provides free meals for San Diego air traffic controllers during shutdown.

San Diego

Air traffic controllers in San Diego have been working without pay for 38 days due to an ongoing government shutdown. In response, The Smoking Gun restaurant, owned by former air traffic controller Randy Wagner, has provided free hot meals to more than 100 controllers at the Southern California TRACON facility. 

The initiative is supported by local sponsors such as Screwball Whiskey, with hopes to involve more community partners. Many controllers have taken on additional jobs or shifts to supplement their lost income, while continuing to perform their essential duties to maintain public safety.

Restaurant provides free meals for San Diego air traffic controllers

This has also been a very stressful time for air traffic controllers who haven't been paid since the shutdown started 38 days ago. ABC 10 News reporter Perla Shaheen shows how the community is looking after them one bite at a time. The smoking gun downtown has something cooking for San Diego's air traffic controllers. They've been working without pay as we head into the fifth week of the government shutdown. Smoked brisket, mac and cheese and a side of cooked vegetables for more than a hundred air traffic controllers working day by day with no paycheck. Very stressful. I mean you're thinking about things outside of your control while you're looking at hundreds of lives in your hands at any given moment. Randy Wagner owns the smoking gun restaurant and was also an air traffic controller early on in his career. It's like helping out family. This is a little bit that we can do to support them and during this time. On Friday Wagner's team catered hot meals for his former co-workers at Southern California TRACON. They're among the 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers working without pay through the government shutdown. A position like that it's classified as the government as an essential worker and if you abandon position you can get fired. Wagner says many of them have had to pick up shifts outside their full-time job finding time when they can to make money. They might be calling out six just to supplement the income that they're not receiving right now. This time screwball whiskey is supporting the cost of catering. Wagner hopes to continue doing this with other sponsors in the community. As much support as we can to help them we will. To give back to San Diego's essential government employees working to keep the rest of us safe. Perla Shaheen, ABC 10 News.

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