Original Pancake House eager to flip switch on Taylor Avenue site

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This article was published 11/06/2024 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Syrup may soon be poured on pancake flights in Grant Park — but first, the new Original Pancake House’s kitchen floor must be poured.

Construction is ongoing at 1170 Taylor Ave. If current timelines unfold, the restaurant will open by the end of July.

“It’s nice to get back to the neighbourhood,” said Terry Friesen, the local chain’s general manager.

The Original Pancake House spent 60 years on Pembina Highway before shuttering that location in 2021. Someone offered to buy the property, Friesen said at the time; it’s since become an expanded Vic’s Fruit Market.

Meanwhile, the chain has opened in the Polo Park area, The Forks Market and, most recently, on McGillivray Boulevard.

The Taylor Avenue site is set to house an espresso bar, prompted by a demand for drinks at the McGillivray location.

“We’ve had an espresso machine in there since Day 1, and we’ve seen the growth,” Friesen said. “Enough so that it was worth bringing out of the back of the house and into the public view (on Taylor).”

A public view, but only from customers’ own tables and booths — the bar won’t be walk-up style.

New cocktails and mocktails will come with the Taylor Avenue restaurant’s arrival, as will pancake flights, Friesen relayed.

Strawberry shortcake, lemon ricotta and chocolate banana pancakes are part of the sampler platter.

The roughly 5,200 square-foot building — attached to the end of a strip mall, with grocer Sobeys book-ending the other side — is an encouraging sight after years of COVID-19 pandemic-era challenges, Friesen stated.

“It’s very positive for all our employees … that we can build something new,” he said, adding the company was supported by customers during pandemic public health lockdowns.

He declined to say whether a current Pancake House location would close as the Taylor Avenue eatery opened.

The new site is planned with 170 seats in mind. A room set for private events during the week contains 38 seats.

Friesen expects to host a job fair in July. He’s estimating a need to hire 50 people — servers, hosts, cooks and dishwashers.

Across the city, the Original Pancake House employs some 130 staff, Friesen said.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Cindy Carmichael, owner of a nearby Orangetheory Fitness. “Come for a workout and go for pancakes — what could be better?”

Her business has rented in the strip mall for almost eight years. It’s a “one-stop shop,” she described, noting there are plenty of nearby apartments filled with residents.

A medical clinic is being built beside the upcoming Original Pancake House. Some 23,300 vehicles per day pass nearby on Taylor Avenue, according to a brochure advertising a new building for lease in the area.

“I hope that they do a good job,” Rob Thomas said of the new Original Pancake House while shopping at the nearby Sobeys.

The career chef highlighted the price of groceries: “I just feel that … because they are having to purchase at that price, that they (should be) giving a quality product.”

The Original Pancake House planted roots in Winnipeg 66 years ago. It was founded in Portland, Ore.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com