Old Fashioned Pancake House, Joliet Mainstay Since 1988, Reveals Major Changes: 'People Are Excited'

JOLIET, IL — For more than six years, customers patronizing Joliet's Old-Fashioned Pancake House knew they had to clear the restaurant by the middle of the afternoon. They reluctantly adjusted and got used to it. In the midst of the deadly worldwide COVID pandemic, the family-owned restaurant made the decision to stay open for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner. Starting now, that changes.

You will now be able to enjoy a delicious dinner selection at Old Fashioned Pancake House as of Monday, June 1.

As of this week, Panagioti, known as"PZ," and his sister Despina officially take over the ownership from their father, Dimitrios "Jimmy" Zografos. The Zografos family has been a mainstay in the Joliet restaurant scene since 1988, when they first opened Old Fashioned Pancake House at 2202 W. Jefferson St. in the Marycrest shopping plaza.

"Serving the best breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Joliet for over 37 years!" their restaurant's Facebook page proclaimed.

During a recent interview, PZ told Joliet Patch that the ownership passing from his father to him and his sister made for a great time to bring back the dinner menu and stay open later.

PZ explained there will be a two-sided dinner menu "with our 25 most popular breakfast items and on the dinner side, all of those home-cooked meals ... We've had a lot of people asking us for dinner since COVID, and our first priority is to make sure we are looking out for our customers."

Starting June 1, Joliet's one and only Old Fashioned Pancake House Restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

During these past six years, Old Fashioned Pancake House was open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The new dinner menu will include a lot of customer favorites, meals you will not find at most Joliet area sit-down restaurants, such as the liver and onions, breaded pork tenderloin and "our ribs that slide off the bone," PZ said. "This (dinner menu) will give us the opportunity to perfect those plates. We're used to having such a big menu that we're trying to hone in on the plates we make best that customers will love.

"Our pasta options have always been popular, like our chicken parmesan. We will have a new chipotle aioli chicken and rice bowl; we just make the homemade chipotle sauce. I don't want to take credit for that; my cook found it."

PZ said he encourages customers to continue to send their opinions through the restaurant's Facebook page as far as the changes go concerning the dinner menu.

"I think you can never truly be ready for anything. We are aware there are some hurdles we will have to overcome, but that's part of any business," PZ told Joliet Patch. "God has been very good to us here. It's done very well, provided for our whole family. As a family, we always look at the small details to make sure the customer gets the best experience with us."

Along those lines, PZ said they recently brought back the main counter for customers to sit and enjoy their meal. The front counter, right in front of the kitchen, features seven stools.

Joliet Patch asked PZ what dinner entry he would recommend for people visiting Old Fashioned Pancake House this week.

"Maybe our garlic butter salmon. It's Norwegian salmon that's over a bed of mashed potatoes. That one's popular."

PZ explained that once he shared out the news that Old Fashioned Pancake was bringing back its dinner hours on Brian Bessler's Joliet Area Bar and Restaurant Guide on Facebook, he received a great response.

"It just got posted on the restaurant group and there's huge excitement. People are excited," PZ explained.