Walpack Center, New Jersey · Since 1949
A New Jersey Original
Tucked away in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Walpack Inn has been welcoming fishermen, families, and anyone willing to make the drive since Adam and Louise first opened the kitchen in 1949. The valley hasn't changed. The recipe hasn't changed.
Friday · Saturday · Sunday | 7 National Park Service Rd 615, Wallpack Center, NJ
From the Owner
Hello from Jim
Jim Heigis Darco — Owner, son of original proprietors Louise & Adam
I moved here when I was 12-years-old with my family from Rutherford, New Jersey. My grandparents were local farmers, my father, Adam, tended bar, and my mother, Louise, was a great cook — still remembered for her spaghetti and meatballs and homemade fruit pies.
I took over for my parents after I graduated from hotel and restaurant school at the age of 23. The Inn has always been a work in progress and with the help of my wife and two daughters we will continue to do our very best to accommodate all of you.
I look forward to seeing you here and sharing the beauty of spring, the summer peach pie, the crisp fall leaves, or building you a warm toasty fire to sit by, and sharing my life's work with you, a place that I will always call home.
Jim Heigis Darco
Owner — Son of Original Owners Louise & Adam
Jim Heigis Darco — Owner
Our History
1945
A Stone House on Route 615
The Walpack Inn was born in 1945, when the Lombardi and Zichella families opened a steak and spaghetti restaurant in a stone house on Route 615. Joe Lombardi later built a small wooden structure on 40 acres — a bar upstairs, two dining rooms below, serving the locals, hunters, fishermen, and anyone willing to make the drive into the valley.
The menu was simple: steak and spaghetti. The setting was everything else. The Walpack Valley had a way of making people stay longer than they planned.
"Fun fact: Walpack Inn was originally spelled with 2 'L's — but the sign painter liked how one 'L' looked better, and it stuck."
The Inn circa 1949.
The Inn circa 1950.
My parents Louise and Adam ran the restaurant together and farmed the land when they first moved to Walpack.
Adam and Louise — the original proprietors.
1949
Louise & Adam Arrive
In 1949, Bergen County residents Louise and Adam — drawn to Sussex County through family connections — transitioned into the restaurant business and took over the kitchen. Adam's health had required a change; the valley gave them both a new start.
Louise kept the Lombardi traditions and built on them. Her spaghetti and meatballs, her glazed fruit pies, her instinct for hospitality became the soul of the Inn. Their lobster dinners — priced at $1.25 with french fries and coleslaw — became a sensation that drew guests from as far as New York City.
Louise and Adam didn't just run a restaurant. They farmed the land, they knew the valley, they became part of it.
1960 – Present
Jim's Walpack
After completing hotel and restaurant school, Jim Heigis Darco — Louise and Adam's son — came home at twenty-three to take over the kitchen. He had spent his winters working and skiing in Aspen, Colorado, absorbing the atmosphere of great mountain lodges: beamed ceilings, slab tables, stone fireplaces that made a room feel like shelter from the world.
In 1960 he brought that vision home. The lower bar was renovated with the soul of an Aspen winter. He introduced the freshly baked brown bread that has become the Inn's most beloved signature — guests have been asking about it since the first loaf came out of the oven.
The Greenhouse dining room followed in 1975, carved from the hillside with sweeping views of the Walpack Valley. At dusk, deer graze on the great lawn just steps from the windows. That view — valley, mountain, wildlife, candlelight — is the Walpack Inn experience.
The original bar room.
Every winter I'd ski and work in Aspen, CO. This particular year in the 70s I brought back a bartender to work with us at the Inn!
Jim Woolsey played piano for us until he was in his late 90s. People still ask about him every weekend.
A Beach Boys concert on the lawn in the 80s.
The Years Between
Community, Music & Memory
Adam passed in 1981 at age eighty. Louise in 1997 at eighty-five. Their spirit didn't leave with them — it lives in the kitchen. In every loaf of brown bread, every Friday night prime rib, every glazed fruit pie that leaves the oven.
Over the decades, the Inn became more than a restaurant. Jim Woolsey played piano until he was in his late nineties — guests still ask about him by name. The Beach Boys played the lawn in the eighties. Louise was known to enjoy her martinis with the local fire department after a long shift.
Jim's final major addition was the Wildlife Room, where Louise's own paintings were reproduced on the glass entry doors. A permanent tribute to the woman who shaped the kitchen and the Inn.
"The Inn has always been a work in progress — and with the help of my wife and two daughters we will continue to do our very best to accommodate all of you." — Jim
As Told by Jacquelin Speck
A bit of history…
Louise, 1949.
In 1949 neither Louise nor Adam would ever have guessed they would end up in the restaurant business. But when health problems dictated that Adam needed to retire, these two Bergen County residents looked to family ties in Sussex County. News of a little restaurant for sale in Walpack seemed like a perfect solution. Voila! Louise brought her great cooking skills and Adam his expertise at the bar (more often on the other side of it!). The Inn had been established four years earlier by the Lombardi and Zichella families and was originally housed in that beautiful stone house just a half-mile down Route 615. How often Louise lamented that Joe Lombardi chose instead to build a small wooden structure on 40 acres nearby.
The original building consisted of the top entry level with a bar and two dining rooms that hosted a vast array of regulars … the locals who never missed a chance to stop on the way home from work, hungry hunters and fishermen at five in the morning, and those beloved weekenders who ate, drank, and kept the juke box going into the wee hours of the morning.
The Lombardis had established the Inn as a good steak and spaghetti place. Louise followed that lead and added many creative dishes of her own including those great glazed fresh fruit pies. But what really put The Walpack Inn on the diner's map was Lobster!! Just $1.25 with french fries and cole slaw! They came from all over and lined up for hours to be served.
By 1960, son Jim had graduated from Hotel and Restaurant School and was ready to put his creative ideas to work. The influence of his many trips to Aspen, Colorado can be seen in the first addition, the lower bar, where people are treated to the sight of huge beamed ceilings, slab tables, a magnificent stone fireplace (built by Jim) and the smell of the wonderful, freshly baked brown bread. The Greenhouse dining room was added in 1975 to enhance the views of the Kittatinny Mountain Range and nearby fields with walking paths and deer who feed there daily. Adam found the renovation of his beloved bar into the foyer and restrooms a bit disconcerting, but acquiesced in the name of progress. Adam died in 1981 at age 80 and Louise in 1997 at age 85. Jim's last addition of the Wildlife Room (is it really the LAST, Jim?) with Louise's paintings etched in the glass entry doors pays tribute to them both.
Jim and family continue to welcome guests to their comfortable establishment with the same enthusiasm that Louise and Adam did over 50 years ago. Driving into the beautiful Walpack Valley, one is not surprised that they chose to settle here. While sitting in front of the fireplace, dining on wonderfully hearty food, watching the deer in the fields, it becomes very clear why people return again and again to The Walpack Inn.
This history was compiled by Jacquelin Speck.
The Archive
Through the Years
From the Inn's collection — in Jim's own words
The Inn circa 1949.
The Inn circa 1950.
Fun fact: Walpack Inn was originally spelled with 2 "L"s — but the sign painter liked how one looked better, and it stuck!
My parents Louise and Adam ran the restaurant together and farmed the land when they first moved to Walpack.
Adam and Louise — the original proprietors of the Walpack Inn.
My mom Louise was known to enjoy her martinis after a long day of work! Here she is with the local Fire Department.
The original bar room.
An early Walpack Inn menu.
The jukebox.
Jim Woolsey played piano for us until he was in his late 90s. People still ask about him every weekend.
Every winter I'd ski and work in Aspen, CO. This particular year in the 70s I brought back a bartender to work with us at the Inn!
A Beach Boys concert on the lawn in the 80s.
With our Walpack team when I took over the Inn after my parents passed.
The Walpack Inn crew.
A moment from the Inn's history.
My nephew learning how to bake bread the Walpack way.
In Their Own Words
What Our Guests Say
From first-time visitors to guests of 40+ years
My family has been going to the Walpack Inn for years. I remembered being there as a kid, and just went back recently for the first time for Father's Day. Start with a drink at the bar by the fireplace where you feel right at home. The smell of fresh baked bread and steaks fills the air for instant comfort. Views of the great lawn where the deer and wildlife come to feed at dusk is very unique and serene.
A Seasoned Walpack Inn Visitor
Been coming here for well over 40 years. The Brown Bread is the best. I always get French Onion Soup, Prime Rib and Black Raspberry Ice Cream Pie. And the staff is always friendly.
A Regular Visitor
This place just sort of has my heart, as much as a restaurant can have your heart. We took six people to dinner there recently and everyone had such a good time, from the attentive bar service to the amazing waitstaff. Food was fantastic. Just go there.
A Walpack Inn Lover
My husband went there with his family when he was growing up and now we take our children there when we're camping or visiting in the area. It's just a special, special place. Welcoming staff, great food, gorgeous setting. No matter where you sit you've got a great view.
A Family Tradition Visitor
From start to finish this place is a must. The bread is worth the trip alone. Enjoy the beautiful view and amazing food.
A Lover of Our Brown Bread
This restaurant has the type of charm that draws you back. I've been here in almost all seasons now and every time it's equally beautiful.
A Seasoned Visitor
An aspect of this old inn that really stood out was the atmosphere that seemed to pervade the place — everyone was really happy to be there. There were patrons of all ages, and a hardworking, friendly professional staff.
A New Walpack Inn Fan
It is a beautiful place with a wood-burning fireplace, classic oak bar, and open windows looking out over the acres of fields and woods. As soon as you walk in, the aroma of the fireplace fills your senses, followed by the ambiance of the dining rooms.
A Nourished New Visitor
I have been to this gem hidden in Sussex County for over 30 years! I love the food, the setting, the views and the deer who make it a great overall experience.
A Walpack Inn Enthusiast
This place takes the phrase 'hidden gem' to a whole new level.
A Happy Traveler
The food is amazing, the salad bar is always fresh and the bread is to die for. The view is so relaxing for every season. And we just love to see the deer at dusk.
A Regular Visitor
Very remote location, it's hard to believe you're in NJ! So close to Stokes State Forest and Dingman's Falls in Pennsylvania. Highly recommended.
A Happy Traveler