ToquiNotes: Trying to Solve City Restaurant Dilemma from the 1980s that Continues to Stay Up in the Air
By Jeff Toquinto on September 28, 2024 from ToquiNotes
Somewhere between the mid-1970s and 1988, a piece of Bridgeport nostalgia disappeared into thin air. Okay, it actually did not randomly vanish, but it has been decades since those who probably would know the information have last seen about it or heard about it.
Bridgeport businessman John Ebert and I are hoping you can answer a question I have asked of him and McDonald’s Marketing Director Lisa Cook more than once over the last decade-plus. And it all stems from my time as a youngster at the Bridgeport McDonald’s that is essentially 50 years old.
Before getting to the mystery, a trip back to my pre-anxiety days as a youth. Back in the days of going to a restaurant, any restaurant, was as rare as going on vacation, the trend occasionally got broken if you got invited to a birthday party at McDonald’s.
In downtown Clarksburg that meant going on a tour of the rare basement and party room. In Bridgeport, where this mystery unfolds, it meant going into the sunken center dining area of the old restaurant.
For those who are unaware, the sunken dining section allowed for the centerpiece of this blog. Once seated for the party – or just to dine – you not only had a treat coming for your stomach, but you soon had one for your eyes as well.
Attached to the ceiling was an airplane. Yes, an airplane. Perhaps it was my age when last seeing it, but the plane seemed extremely large. And if I recall correctly, it was hung upside down so you could see inside the cockpit of what – again going from a decades-old memory – was a single-prop plane.
Sometime in 1988 the plane was removed during a remodel, but the sunken dining area survived for a while. Today, there is no trace either existed, and that chapter being closed ended up closing an exceedingly rare thing, or even a one-of-a-king thing, in the global world of McDonald’s.
“That airplane was not the only thing unique to Bridgeport, which may have been the only one of its kind, but it was very rare to have a sunken dining hall due to the risk of insurance claims,” said Ebert. “The original property had two things that were unusual.”
Ebert, who owns dozens of McDonald’s in multiple states, seems like the right person to ask. Give the owner a call and problem solved.
The problem, however, is that while Ebert knows of the plane, the sunken dining area, and a remodel done in 1988, he was not the owner. According to Cook, Ebert took over the location in 1990 and the plane had flown the coop – pun intended.
“It was gone when I got here,” said Ebert. “I’ve heard it is in someone’s basement, but I have no idea if that is true or if anyone else knows.”
What Ebert does know is that the airplane was a trigger for a lot of positive memories at the store he has operated for decades. And it is 
not just a rare inquiry.
not just a rare inquiry.
“People who have been coming in here for a long time, ironically, will ask about it from time to time, especially for those coming back after many years that are traveling either back to Bridgeport or traveling through the area,” said Ebert.
Since acquiring the Main Street McDonald’s, Ebert has seen more than one remodel. In fact, nine years ago the store was leveled, and a new, state-of-the-art facility was put in its place.
If the airplane had been tucked away under a floor, in a hidden panel, or its whereabouts were on a map indicating its location for future generations, those hopes came crashing down at about the same time the walls of the building did.
The thing that has surprised me is that in the advent of social media, I have never once viewed a photo online that was posted showing the airplane. I see photos of old birthday parties from my generation constantly, including my own, and have never once seen a photo from that McDonald’s that, at worst, would likely show the plane hanging from the ceiling.
If this were standard fare at McDonald’s nationwide, perhaps yours truly – along with Ebert – would not be inquiring about the possible whereabouts of it today and the possibility of a photo of it from the past surviving as well. It, according to Ebert, was not standard fare.
“Even though I have no idea of the original concept or why they went with the plane and sunken dining room, it is unique,” he said. “I would love for someone to have information on where it is located today if it is still out there, and I would love to see a photo or photos of it hanging from the ceiling.”
There you have it. And this is a request for well beyond Bridgeport’s borders.
Do you have knowledge of the plane existing today and, if so, where it is? And second, does anyone have a photo? If so, email me at jeff@connect-bridgeport.com and you can help solve a puzzle that has grown since the 1980s.
"I think the airplane is out there, and hopefully we'll get a few answers," said Ebert.
That makes two of us.
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