photograph by michael donahue
Pancake Shop owner Hunter Myers (center) with longtime employees McKenneth “Kenny” Hamilton Jr. and Billie Millner.
If you glance down, you might see Hunter Myers wearing his “breakfast socks” — gray socks with little bacon, toast, and sunny-side-up egg designs.
They’re a perfect fit for Myers, a gift from his mother after he bought The Pancake Shop on March 1, 2022. “I looked down and I saw this pair of socks folded over with a little bow on them on the table,” Myers says. “It said, ‘Congratulations’ on the card.”
So far, owning the iconic restaurant on Summer Avenue has been “a fine ride,” says the 44-year-old Myers. He was told the restaurant was started in 1957 and went through three owners until he bought it.
Though his family moved to Memphis when he was five years old, Myers says, “I never went to The Pancake Shop growing up.” But he certainly knew about it. “It’s a northeast Memphis tradition. It’s a staple. You’ve got The Pancake Shop and Bryant’s Breakfast on Summer.”
“It’s the last bastion of classic diners. Since the Blue Plate Cafe closed down, there are not that many classic diners left in Memphis.” — Pancake Shop owner Hunter Myers
One of his dad’s friends, a financial analyst, told Myers, who was then general manager at the Oasis Cafe at Hilton Headquarters in Memphis, that The Pancake Shop was for sale. He said, “Hey, I’ve got a restaurant place you might be interested in,” Myers says.
Myers, who began as a kitchen manager for the old TGI Fridays in Overton Square, worked as kitchen manager or director of operations at other Memphis restaurants.
Owning his own place was always something he wanted to do — one day, he says. “Anybody in this industry always has the ultimate dream of ownership and working for yourself. I always thought that was going to come later in life for me.”
photograph by hunter myers
The author enjoys a hearty breakfast.
Before he took any steps to buy it, Myers visited the little restaurant and ordered the “Everyday Special” on the menu. “I finished my eggs, hash browns, and sausage and started on the pancakes. I thought, ‘Well, these had better be the star of the show. It’s The Pancake Shop, for crying out loud.’ I got halfway through the pancakes. I couldn’t go any further. I was stuffed. I couldn’t eat any more.”
He then told his dad’s friend, “Put my name in the hat and put me in the bidding war.”
Myers couldn’t get over how thick and fluffy the pancakes were. He was especially impressed with the attention paid to the batter. “You can tell when someone doesn’t follow the recipe,” he says, “not whipping it enough to get the air in it.” Being in the food industry, Myers knows that air creates a fluffy pancake. “I could tell that batter was made perfectly, stored at the right temperature from beginning to end.”
Even so, he wasn’t able to buy the business immediately. “There were several other fairly high-profile restaurant owners in the city that were wanting this place,” he says. “It was a bidding war there for a while.”
He did tell the former owner after he bought it, “When you come in here 20 years from now, it will still be The Pancake Shop. I have no intention of changing the name, image, and likeness of this brand.”
Myers says, “There might be new furniture and paint on the walls, but it will always be The Pancake Shop. I don’t want to change too much. I’ll do some renovations on the building. Some things need to be done.”
But he considers that just “spring cleaning.”
No matter what, The Pancake Shop staff stays. McKenneth “Kenny” Hamilton Jr., who has worked there for 29 years, will remain as head cook. And Billie Millner, who has been a server for 30 years, is still in the dining room, giving coffee refills and taking orders.
In addition to the variety of pancakes, which includes “bacon chip,” “sausage crumble,” and “pecan walnut,” The Pancake Shop also features meat-and-three plate lunches, which customers can order until closing.
The Pancake Shop is still cash only, but the restaurant, which for a long time was a 24-hour-a-day operation, now opens at 6 a.m. and, for now, closes at 7 p.m. But that closing time could change, Myers says.
One of the servers created a new logo, which Myers uses on Facebook and Instagram. But he knows better than to change the legendary red-and-white sign on Summer Avenue.
Franchising The Pancake Shop might even come in time, he says. “Five years from now I want to have a Pancake Shop on the Collierville Square. It needs a good breakfast spot.”
For now, though, he is concentrating on the original. “It’s the last bastion of classic diners. Since the Blue Plate Cafe closed down, there are not that many classic diners left in Memphis.”
And customers shouldn’t think they have to order a traditional breakfast at The Pancake Shop. “You can come in at 6 in the morning, get a ribeye that was cut at Charlie’s Meat Market, and a loaded baked potato. It happens all the time,” the owner says. “People get off a night shift at 6 a.m. and they want dinner.”
The Pancake Shop is located at 4838 Summer Avenue in the Bell Plaza Shopping Center.
