Phoenix, AZ
Arizona's oldest brewery runs the restaurant in the Deer Valley terminal; 11 drafts, big booths, windows on both runways of one of the busiest GA airports in the country. Open daily into the evening with weekend breakfast; replaced the longtime Deer Valley Airport Restaurant in 2024. The second-floor observation deck next door is worth the climb.
Originated as a small Sperry Flight Systems airstrip in the 1950s, when the company built its aerospace and defense complex on what was then undeveloped desert north of Phoenix. The field grew with the city around it. In 2020 KDVT recorded 402,444 aircraft movements — making it the busiest general aviation airport in the world and the fifth-busiest airport of any kind, ahead of every commercial hub except a handful of mega-airports. Two closely-spaced parallel runways (7L/25R, 7R/25L), Class D under PHX Class B, primarily flight training and corporate. North and south tower frequencies operate simultaneously. If you're used to uncontrolled fields, ATC here is fast, forgiving, and used to student pilots — they've seen everything.