A Taste of the Skies: How Sky Rider Cafe Took Off

Sky Rider Café was awarded the Taste of Marana STANDOUT Award in 2025.

It was a love for flying and working on aircraft that led the Abrams family to start running one of Marana’s oldest cafés right smack-dab at the airport, Sky Rider Cafe.

Sky Rider opened its doors in 1982, but the Abrams family had been cooking at Marana Regional Airport far before. Barb and her late husband, Bud Abrams, along with their son, Gary, would spend their Sundays on the airfield.

“My dad and I used to rebuild old airplanes in the hangars, all year-round,” Gary Abrams shared. “Old T-28s, Biplanes, Warbirds, we build them up for enjoyment.”

Their planes gained the interest of others who would fly into Marana from Phoenix. It created a network of aviation enthusiasts who worked on aircraft together with the sole mission of getting them into the skies.

They would spend so much time out there that Bud would bring his electric skillet and cook hamburgers for lunch on a routine basis, Gary said.

PicturedHanging on the wall inside Sky Rider is a Pitts Special Aerobatic Biplane that Gary and his father Bud built and flew for many years.

CreditBrandon Mejia

“It got to the point that people we knew out of town would fly in and they would be helping us on the airplanes and it’s hard to eat in front of people, so he [Bud] would bring more,” Gary said. “They started looking forward more to our hamburgers than working on our airplanes.”

When they weren’t cooking or building, they were flying. Gary, Bud, and their friends would fly in formation taking off in split moments to create patterns and shapes in the skies.

Barb would watch them fly and sometimes be brave enough to ride with them.

They performed tricks, like the one Gary shared. Two of them would create a heart in the sky and then his dad would fly his plane as an arrow right through it.

When she wasn’t riding along, she was watching them. Barb would call them “Sky Riders”, “That’s what they were,” she said.

PicturedThe view of the airfield from Sky Rider's balcony.

CreditBrandon Mejia

And that is how she came up with the name when she decided she wanted to open what started as a coffee shop back in 1982.

As more traffic on the tarmac grew, so did the number of items on the menu as they would serve breakfast and lunch.

“All these people would come in for breakfast or in the afternoon for – in those days what they called the ‘$100 hamburger’ because they would fly down here for it,” Gary said laughingly.

Keeping it in the family, Barb’s sister took over. The restaurant expanded a bit in size and continues to be decorated in airplane memorabilia, historic photos of the Marana airfield, artifacts and airplane models that hang from the ceiling, all with a window view of the airfield.

DID YOU KNOW:

A lot of movies were filmed at the airport? You can even spot a piece of artwork history hanging at the restaurant from the 1992 film Iron Eagle III starring Louis Gossett Jr, Rachel McLish, and Paul Freeman. Fun Fact: The Marana airport was also used in the 1983 film Cannonball Run II starring Burt Reynolds.

While attending the unveiling for the new “Wings Over Marana” public art display at the Marana Regional Airport in June of 2025, Gary and Barb were awarded the Discover Marana “Taste of Marana” STANDOUT Restaurant Award.

“That kind of stunned me, I didn’t expect that at all, I am very pleased, it’s very humbling,” Gary shared.

The award-winning local gem continues to serve its regulars every day from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and has hopes for more in the future.

“We still would like to, one of these days, add on an outdoor barbeque and expand it, expand the restrooms and the kitchen, and turn it into a breakfast, lunch, and nighttime steakhouse,” Gary said. “That’s what we would really like to do.”

🎉 Congratulations to our 2025 Taste of Marana STANDOUT Award recipient: Sky Rider Café ✈️☕

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Discover Marana (@discovermarana)

WHAT SHOULD I ORDER?

Gary’s recommendation: Sky Rider Burger. "It’s a good lunch,” Gary

Author’s Recommendation: Ruben – “Delish!”

A Great Place To Stop while passing through Marana!

If you are planning your next adventure to the Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park West, Old Tucson, or just passing through North Marana and wondering where to eat, make Sky Rider Cafe your spot for breakfast or lunch! Open till 2 p.m. every day!

How to nominate the next TASTE of Marana Standout Award!

If this inspired you to speak up about another local Marana restaurant that is standing out in its community, we want to know about it because it is the community that selects these one-of-a-kind awards.

If there is a local food business, you can make you nomination here.

This itinerary/blog post showcases local businesses in our community. We feature partners that serve food and drink, offer recreational opportunities, places to stay, and shopping. We value accuracy, fairness and balance in our advertising and marketing. We would love to showcase your business to our visitors. These advertising and marketing opportunities (social media, articles, website, and ads) are open to all businesses within Marana and the designated two-mile “Pima County Tourism Partner Zone” around the town limits that meet this criteria. If you want to be featured on our website or in social media, please contact us at MaranaInfo@Maranaaz.gov.

Author

Brandon Mejia

Tourism Marketing Specialist

Brandon is a product of the Marana Unified School District and proud Arizona Alumni. His multi-faceted background includes radio and television news, social media distribution, public affairs and communications. He loves spending time outdoors playing in his slow-pitch softball leagues, golfing at Quarry Pines, and being an avid cross-fitter at his local gym, CrossFit Onward.

Send An Email