Old Fashioned Pancake House: Several Specials Added

JOLIET, IL — Restaurants come and go, but Old Fashioned Pancake Restaurant is not like other restaurants. It's been at 2022 West Jefferson St. since 1988. Old Fashioned Pancake House shuts down only two days a year: Christmas and Thanksgiving. Now, times are tough for everyone in the sit-down restaurant business notably in Joliet.

For years, core customers counted on Old Fashioned Pancake House for their daily coffee and breakfast. Lots of small groups, including senior citizens, congregated around one of the many dining room tables for a fresh hot meal and conversation.

That's been taken away from everybody for now.

For the past few weeks, the dining room is off-limits to guests due to the coronavirus shutdown.

"It's the first time we've ever had to close," remarked Panagioti Zografos, whose father, Jim Zografos, owns Old Fashioned Pancake House.

The owner's son told Joliet Patch on Monday that he recently visited Menards where he came across one of their loyal customers. He said the woman was nearly in tears about the fact that she can't eat inside the Old Fashioned Pancake House like she's always done.

One of Joliet's best known family-run restaurants is trying to adjust.

It's now offering daily $12 specials to help lift the spirits of Joliet residents. Customers should visit the restaurant's Facebook page to keep up on the daily specials.

The daily specials have included: fried or Greek chicken, haddock, catfish or perch, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken kebabs, roast turkey and more.

The owner's son stressed their $12 specials will not generate lots of revenue for the restaurant.

That's not the point.

Rather, Old Fashioned Pancake House wants to do something for Joliet, to give citizens a viable quality carryout option as many people remain out of work or are confined to their neighborhoods as they cope with the coronavirus pandemic one week at a time.

"While we are not making money, the number one reason we are open is for the customers," the owner's son told Joliet Patch, "because, we have some customers who come in for specific meals every single week. This was just their place to come and relax with friends."

On Monday, Patch noticed several delivery drivers parking in front of Old Fashioned Pancake House as lunch time neared.

The West Jefferson Street restaurant of more than 30 years strong is now working with Uber Eats and Grubhub to make deliveries throughout the Joliet area.

Zografos also wants to get the word out about what he considers an incredible deal for families: "The Family Breakfast."

The meal includes: 12 scrambled eggs, 10 sausage links, 10 slices of bacon, five pancakes, six halves of french toast and hash browns for $35.

The $35 Family Breakfast meal can be ordered at any time of the day, he said.

If you're in the mood for something else, Old Fashioned Pancake House started offering a $12 daily special that comes with soup or salad as well as a potato.

The restaurant will feature a $16 per person Easter Sunday dinner as a to-go menu option.

Old Fashioned Pancake House remains open daily for carryout and delivery orders from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. To order takeout, the restaurant's phone is 815-741-4666. For more menu details, visit Old Fashioned Pancake House here.

Old Fashioned Pancake House was one of the small businesses to fill out Joliet Patch's simple online survey to let everyone know whether they are open and current hours of operations during the coronavirus outbreak.

If you want to add your small local business to Joliet Patch's growing list of open and closed businesses, you can do so here.

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