Arlington's fly-in restaurant
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ARLINGTON — When the pilots in the Blackjack Squadron plan their formation-flying maneuvers, you'll likely find them sitting on the outdoor deck at Taildraggers Restaurant & Lounge.
When billionaire Paul Allen wanted to see his restored World War II P-51D Mustang fighter fly, he and his friends gathered at Taildraggers to watch the show.
At Taildraggers, you won't just hear people talk about flying — you can watch them prepare to take off only a few yards away. A pilot can land at Arlington Airport, pull his plane up to the restaurant, park 10 or 20 feet from the deck and pop into the restaurant for a burger.
"It's still a country airfield, but it's got the big runway," said Randy Bueing, one of three owners of the restaurant at 18218 59th Drive N.E., on the east side of the municipal airport.
The runway dates from World War II, when the airport was a naval air station. But Taildraggers Restaurant & Lounge dates just to December.
The name, incidentally, comes from a type of airplane with a small tail wheel, hence "taildragger."
The building that houses the restaurant goes back about 40 years, Bueing said, and was most widely known in the 1980s as the Prop Stop restaurant. Most recently it hosted the Gateway restaurant, and that's what it was called when Bueing and his partners, Noong Mitchell and John Nelson, bought it.
All the men knew each other from working at Boeing, where Bueing still is employed, teaching industrial skills. Mitchell was laid off from the aerospace giant, and Nelson is retired.
They immediately made major changes, advertising more, expanding the menu and hours, and adding a bar and live music. Now they have 10 employees and are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
Now it's become common for pilots of Lear jets or other planes on their way from California to other destinations to stop at Taildraggers and grab a burger, Bueing said.
"There's room for 30, 40 planes," he said. "It's really great having the planes being able to stop right next to the door."
Besides that, there's the lure of aviation itself, with the tables offering unobstructed views of the runway. A bulletin board on the wall advertises a 1981 Cessna at $56,000 or a chance to rent a 50- by 60-foot hangar for $1,325 a month.
There are also, of course, the customers themselves.
"It's been great meeting some of the World War II aces, hearing them talking about being shot down in the Pacific," said Mitchell, describing conversation at the restaurant.
Indeed, on the day Microsoft co-founder Allen was showing his Mustang last week, a side conversation was taking place with a pilot describing his wartime exploits.
"It's a good place. The food is good. This is great, particularly since the present ownership got here," said Dave Heckert, a pilot in the Blackjack Squadron, a group of local fliers that stages aerial demonstrations.
Bueing said the men first were looking around for a waterfront restaurant but couldn't afford one.
Now, they said, customers have told them they like to come for dinner partly because of the view.
"They say the only difference between us and ... a waterfront restaurant is our lights move," Mitchell said.
Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com