Parachute Inn

Ralph McCormick 

The Parachute Inn Restaurant, located right next to the FBO at Walnut Ridge (AR) has a new addition.  The seating capacity just increased from sixty to one hundred-forty.  This little restaurant has been on the airport for a long time.  However, in January 2001 Donna Robertson re-opened the restaurant as the Parachute Inn.  Ever since that date it has continued to grow and thrive.   

I remember making the trip to Walnut Ridge (ARG) in 2001 searching for advertisers only to find Donna struggling to get her new enterprise started.  Fly-Low Publications actually started in March of 2001.  Both of us were struggling to get our businesses started.  One of our first advertisers was this little restaurant in Walnut Ridge.  The airport is rich with history, having been a World War II Army Air Field.  Rumor has it that there are WWII planes buried on the 5000 acres of the air field.  There is a museum, Walnut Ridge Historical Museum, on the field, with a new building under construction. 

Oh, yes!  I forgot to mention that the additional seating comes from the addition of a Boeing 737, formally used by Southwest Airlines obvious by the paint scheme.  The name of the airline has been removed from the plane, but the color scheme indicates its heritage.  Donna has take the hull of a plane, converted it into one of the finest and most attractive dining places you’ll find anywhere.  The seating is excellent and has all the comforts and atmosphere of a plane.  You know you have entered the airplane by climbing up a short staircase.  This little restaurant has found a nitch and as they get ready to start their sixth year everything says… ‘Outstanding flight’.   

You can choose from a wide variety, either ordering from their delicious menu or feasting on their freshly stocked buffet. “Catfish Fridays” and “Seafood Saturday” with frog legs, highlight the buffets weekend line-up.  Breakfast and lunch are served Tuesday thru Friday 7:30AM to 2:00PM. Friday and Saturday dinner is served at 5PM till the last person leaves. They are closed Saturday until 5 pm on Saturday and all day Sunday and Monday.  Food prices are very reasonable.

 Parachute Inn cares about its customers and strives to make each day better than the last. Come in and let Donna and the gang greet you with a warm smile and a delicious meal for a great low price. You’ll be glad you came. For more information or directions, please call 870-886-5918.  If you haven’t taken a flight for that $100 hamburger lately, this is a perfect place to go.  It is one of the few places in the area where a pilot can park his/her plane on the ramp and walk to the restaurant.  This is a “must” place to visit.  It is a great airport and the fuel is always very competitive.  Parachute Inn today!!!