Discover Oklahoma: Restaurants will add to memories made at state parks

Over the course of my 13 years at "Discover Oklahoma," one of my favorite types of stories to do has been in our state parks. I have covered or visited all of our state parks with the exception of Black Mesa State Park. And by the end of the year, I intend to change that!

For families, staying at a state park is a great opportunity to make lasting memories — a theme that runs through many of the stories I've heard and the people I've had the pleasure of meeting. Meals are often the setting for special moments that last a lifetime. And now, thanks to the state's new partnership with a local restaurant group, there's one more thing to remember when visiting six state parks in particular. Lake Murray, Quartz Mountain, Robbers Cave, Roman Nose, Sequoyah and Beavers Bend will all have restaurants run by a Oklahoma-based company called La Ratatouille. Falcone's Pizzeria, Joni Cakes Bakery, several food trucks and a thriving catering business are all part of the company with deep roots in communities across the state.

Now people who assume that pizza and other Italian dishes are the only options at those state park eateries are mistaken. First it’s important to note that during the park’s busiest seasons, the restaurants will be open seven days a week, serving full-service breakfast, lunch and dinner. And during the off-season, they will be open six days a week, again serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. And a look at the menu reveals culinary options such as burgers, sandwiches and homestyle dinners like roasted turkey, meatloaf, fish and chips, and one that particularly piqued my interest the BIGFOOT chicken fried steak! The sides will be regular fries or sweet potato fries, house-made cole slaw or a cup of chili.

Many times throughout the year, we talk a lot about shopping and buying local. That is also important to the owner and operator of La Ratatouille, J.P. Wilson. “We have a long history of wanting to keep everything local, keep it Oklahoma based. And I think that’s just even more important to continue doing as we work in these state parks,” Wilson said. “So when people come in, everything is sourced from Oklahoma.”

The effect this new partnership has on those neighborhoods and communities is also crucial. The response was genuine when Shelley Zumwalt, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department executive director, and other administrators visited the areas where the restaurants would be located. Members of the community came forward to express how meaningful this issue was to them. “'We celebrated my kid's birthday here.' 'We celebrated my cousin’s graduation,'” Zumwalt said. “'And when it closed, it meant something to me that it closed, and I needed it to mean something again.' And it’s opening back up.'”

Taylor Nelson, chief of staff for the tourism department, also attended those meetings and told me the importance of the restaurants drove home another point. And that was to make sure the selection process was done correctly. Those restaurants are many times the anchors in those communities so everything had to be done perfectly.

“We also wanted to make sure that all potential vendors who submitted proposals were as prepared as they possibly could be to make smart business decisions and smart business plans,” Nelson said. “So they could be confident that if they submitted a proposal, they knew without a shadow of a doubt, that they could be successful based on the information that we gave them.”

Travel and tourism are serious enterprises; they are a business. Don’t forget the travel industry is the third-largest industry in the state, and according to the City Sentinel Report from January of this year, the tourism industry generated $748 million in state and local taxes in 2021, an increase of 3.3% over 2019, and over 96,000 jobs created by travel spending.

Also when it comes to travel and tourism, fun is a vital part of any successful vacation or getaway. And that is my extremely narrow field of focus and a tiny part of the industry. We do enjoy spreading the word about places that cater to tourists by writing and doing stories about them. We hope those stories will serve as inspiration to get you out of the house, into the car, and on the road to various places where you can relax, have fun, and yes, make memories. Six state parks soon will have restaurants where visitors can enjoy delicious meals and make lasting memories. And, I can't wait to try the BIGFOOT chicken fried steak and tell you about it!

For a complete list of all Oklahoma state parks, go to Travelok.com.

Dino Lalli is the co-host and one of the feature reporters for the weekly television travel show Discover Oklahoma.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Discover Oklahoma: Restaurants add to memories at state parks