Teardrop Pancake House Adds Dinner Menu: 'I Think It's A Great Menu'

MINOOKA, IL — Teardrop Pancake House, one of the few sit-down restaurants in Minooka, made a major change in April, unveiling a dinner menu as it's now staying open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

On Thursday, Teardrop stays open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 6 marked the first day that Teardrop rolled out its new dinner menu. Teardrop Pancake House is located right off Ridge Road at 410 West Mondamin St. The Minooka restaurant's website proclaims, "Home Cooking, Family Dining."

On Sunday through Wednesday, Teardrop remains open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Douglas family took over Teardrop in 2020 right before Covid. The Minooka restaurant opened in 2018.

"I grew up in the restaurant business," restaurant owner Ahmad Douglas explained. "My father was very, very good with breakfast, lunch and dinner. When we purchased Teardrop, they did 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., so we only did breakfast and lunch. (My father) wanted to bring in a dinner menu, but COVID hit, so we waited a little bit and we're doing it now and we think it will be successful.

"We're focused on Minooka and Channahon but we have been advertising in Morris and Shorewood and actually a lot of our customers come from there, too."

If the customer reaction to the dinner menu goes well, Teardrop Pancake House plans to expand the dinner schedule and stay open for dinner Monday through Saturday.

"Yes, absolutely," Douglas said. "The plan is once we see the support for those three days, then we will probably go Monday through Saturday. I think it's a great menu and we still have a (daily) special board. We're looking for volume here.

"We get a lot of repeat business from the small communities of Minooka and Channahon. I don't want them to break the bank. I think our prices are very fair."

Some of the most popular items on the new dinner menu at Teardrop Pancake House include: the steak fajitas, the sirloin steak, beer battered fish fry and the garlic parmesean chicken wings.

Other dinner favorites are the Fresh Roasted Tom Turkey over stuffing and the homemade baked meatloaf.

There are only a couple items on the dinner menu more than $20: the USDA choice ribeye steak at $22.95 and the prime rib au jus special, which is $24.95.

Patch has included photos of the entire dinner menu at the bottom of this article.

And people can still order from the breakfast and lunch menu on the three nights that Teardrop stays open for dinner, Douglas pointed out.

"Our prime rib has been selling real well. You get a lot for what you pay for," Douglas said. "Our prime rib is probably our most popular steak."

As for the dinner menu, "there's something for everyone, and we have a good variety in the menu."

Douglas' father, Jamal, continues to run the kitchen in the family-owned business. Before moving to Channahon, the Douglas family worked in the restaurant industry near Cleveland, Ohio. "Three years ago, we moved for this restaurant," Ahmad Douglas said of Teardrop Pancake House.

"I really like the community," the Teardrop restaurant owner remarked. "It's a tight community and we have excellent repeat customers. I enjoy talking to my customers. That's how you do good business. You need to know customers and take care of them."

Douglas also credited the team Teardrop has assembled in Minooka of 20 employees, including some who have worked for Teardrop since the start.

As for the new weekend dinner menu, Douglas said it's available for takeout orders, too. The Teardrop restaurant phone number for carryout orders is 815-290-5070.

"Anything on the menu is available after 3 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday," he said. "They can call and place their carryout order."

Teardrop is one of the few family restaurants in the entire Joliet area that offers a weekend breakfast buffet, Douglas said.

The breakfast buffet is available every Saturday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. The buffet trays feature scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, sausage, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, hash browns and cube potatoes and a full fruit bar.

"It's always stocked," Douglas said of the breakfast buffet. "We have a great breakfast buffet that has a lot of variety in it."