When The Hangar Bar in Lawrenceville, Illinois wanted a bar top that matched its name, the job went to Matt Vieck of Vieck Concrete Studio. Matt turned the full length of the bar into an airport runway, complete with fiber optic lighting and tire skid marks across the touchdown zone. Through the bar’s windows, customers can see the real airfield it’s modeled on.
Look closely and you’ll see how far Matt carried the theme. The runway has its number 12, a full set of threshold stripes, centerline dashes, and white edge lines, with arrows leading in from the approach end. Where the bar turns the corner toward the service station, the runway gives way to yellow taxiway lines, a hold short marking, and red runway signs, with the server’s spots labeled “Tips” and “Drinks.” At night, fiber optic points cast into the concrete light up along the runway edges and threshold, so the bar glows like an airfield after dark.
A Studio Built Around Family and Community
Matt grew up in Vincennes, Indiana, and he and his wife Alyssa moved back to the area to be closer to friends and family. He had been interested in concrete countertops for years, and in 2021 he finally took the leap and trained at The Concrete Countertop Institute to learn the professional way to make them. Until then, he had no idea how many possibilities the material held, and he’s been exploring them ever since.
The values behind Vieck Concrete Studio are refreshingly plain. Matt wants a business that lets him set his own schedule so he never misses his boys’ games, birthdays, or movie nights, and his boys often help him in the shop. After some bad experiences with contractors who didn’t communicate, he promises clients he’ll be upfront about lead times and tell them right away if a deadline might slip, because he would rather miss a date than deliver a poor-quality piece. He also takes time to explain the material, since many people hear “concrete countertop” and picture a sidewalk. As Matt puts it, “this is definitely not a sidewalk.”
More Creative Concrete from Vieck Concrete Studio
The runway bar is a showpiece, but Matt brings the same care to everything he makes, from commercial bars and counters to furniture, vanities, and veined kitchen countertops.
Learn the Skills Behind Work Like This
Matt took the leap to get professional training, and it gave him the confidence to say yes to a project as ambitious as a lighted runway bar top. If you want to learn how to design and build creative concrete pieces like these, join Jeff for the next Creative Concrete Mastery workshop February 18-20, 2027. Classes are capped at six students so everyone gets hands-on time and personal instruction.