Fannie Farkle's

You will smell it before you see it. The menu leans on Ogle Dogs, cheesesteaks and sausage subs, which is fair-food territory: hot, filling and easy to eat on the move. The Ogle name is a local one (the Ogle family is tied to Gatlinburg's earliest settlement), so ordering one is a small nod to the town. Check the website for the current menu, since it can change.

The game room runs on an electronic game-card system. You load a card, play, and the card keeps track of your points for you, so nobody is carrying fistfuls of tickets around. When you are done, you turn the card in at the prize counter and choose something from the shelves. The operator describes the prize selection as the largest in the area, which is easy to believe once you see the wall.

• Best for: families with kids who need a break from walking the Parkway, and anyone who likes a loud, bright arcade.
• Time needed: plan on an hour, or less if you are only grabbing a bite.
• Cost: pricing depends on how much you load on your card. The website has the current details.

The Parkway gets packed on summer weekends and during peak leaf season in October, and a lunch counter with an arcade is where a tired family naturally ends up. If the group is large, split the job: one adult grabs a table and orders while the kids head for the games. A weekday morning is calmer than a Saturday afternoon.

There is also a merchandise store with Fannie Farkle's shirts, sweatshirts, hats, mugs and stuffed animals, and the site sells a limited-edition Halloween shirt this season. It is a reasonable souvenir if your kids already have a favorite machine.

• Address: 656 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
• Getting there: the free Gatlinburg trolley runs along the Parkway, so you can skip the parking hunt downtown.
• Hours: they change by season. Look at the website before you plan around a late-night visit.

It is not a destination you drive to Tennessee for. It is the stop that keeps a Parkway afternoon from falling apart, and for that job it works well.