The long-closed restaurant at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway could reopen next year.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the National Park Service are advertising for a concessionaire to operate the Bluffs Restaurant and say renovations to the restaurant will begin this fall.
Doughton Park is at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 239-245, about 20 minutes south of Sparta, N.C., and the restaurant is at MP 241.
Bluffs Restaurant opened in 1949 as the first concession facility to provide meals on the Parkway. Forever Resorts decided not to renew its concession contract with the National Park Service in 2010, and because of the cost of repairs needed to reopen, a new concessionaire did not come forward, the Foundation says.
About $1 million from the Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission, N.C. General Assembly and National Park Service has been invested in restoring the facility and outfitting the restaurant with new equipment.
Doughton Park also offers a visitor center and book store (adjacent to the restaurant), campground, picnic area, hiking and bridle trails, and an interpretive site at Brinegar Cabin. Bluffs Lodge at the park remains closed.
Responses to the Foundation’s request for proposals are due by November 15.
Historic Blue Ridge Parkway Stop
“For 60 years, Bluffs Coffee Shop remained a favorite destination for travelers as well as community members, who came for the pan-fried chicken, ham biscuits and friendly service,” the Foundation says. “The restaurant served as an economic engine for Alleghany County and nearby towns, including Sparta.”
Historically, the Bluffs Restaurant and Coffee Shop consisted of a 76-seat coffee shop and two gift sales areas, the RFP says. The total restaurant area is approximately 2,948 square feet. The kitchen/food prep area is 912 square feet.
Bluffs Restaurant and Coffee Shop shown in 1952.
The RFP calls for the concessionaire to offer at least breakfast, lunch and dinner five days a week and says proposals to offer service seven days a week during peak travel season will be preferred.
“Dividing 2010 Bluffs Lodge Restaurant revenue of $498,000 by 76 seats and a 180-day operating season, the average revenue per seat per day was approximately $36, which is slightly higher than the $30 average for midscale restaurants reported in PKF Consulting’s 2009 Restaurant Industry Operations Report,” the RFP says.
Once reopened, the restaurant will be one of five food service locations on the Parkway. The other two in North Carolina are Sally Mae’s in the Northwest Trading Post building (MP 258) and the restaurant at the Pisgah Inn (MP 408).
(National Park Service photo via the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation)
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