The Family House of Pancake Story
Jim and Madeline Spezzano were simple people from humble Italian ancestry.
Dad had three dreams when he was young:"To marry his next door neighbor sweetheart, move to California, and go into business for himself.
Mom had three dreams also:
“Have a family, stay close to home near her family,
and live happily ever after in rural New Jersey.”
After serving as an Army Ranger in WWII,
Dad went back to New York
and married Madeline in1946.
He got a job and went to school
at night to earn his accounting degree.
By 1954, they had two children (Linda & Jim). In 1958, Dad was ready to leave the Big City and go west to accomplish his dreams. Reluctantly, Mom agreed.
Dad found a job at Rohr Aircraft in some place
called Chula Vista. They found a home
near a lemon orchard and settled in.
But the old fortune bug kept biting and finally in 1964 Dad was able to talk
Mom into letting him do his thing. He knew nothing of running a business
(let alone a restaurant). His cooking expertise was limited to making
pancakes late at night while we watched TV.
But they found a building for rent on Broadway and on July 31, 1964
opened their doors for business. Dad never saw the business really do well.
He died in 1967 of a massive heart attack . Mom was forced to take over.
She had the least experience of all being a little stay-at-home Mom,
but necessity and the desire to make a living for herself and her children
became paramount, but still she struggled and persisted.
In 1972, both of us, (Jim became the Manager and Linda a waitress)
stuck by Mom to make the business work.
Mom died in 2003, but her and our father’s legacy and belief that CONSISTENCY
and a GOOD PRODUCT GENEROUSLY GIVEN live on today.
They also believed that treating our employees and our customers like
they were in our home make the difference.
Join us as we celebrate the dream that Jim and Madeline
began so many years ago.
