Hotcake House hits half-century

24-hour eatery is a timeless testament to carbs and crowds

By Pete Schulberg

The Portland Tribune, Apr 29, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Like Disneyland, the Original Hotcake and Steak House Ñ Portland’s very own food Fantasyland for the after-hours crowd Ñ is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Through the years a few things have remained consistent at one of the city’s precious few 24-hour restaurants Ñ it’s a place where carb-loaded breakfasts are scarfed down 24-7, the crowds start building at 2 in the morning and people-watching is a must with 70 vinyl seats arranged in close proximity.

Located at 1002 S.E. Powell Blvd., just east of the Ross Island Bridge, the landmark eatery has not only survived, but has refused to budge from its 1950s-inspired time warp. Perhaps the most noticeable change in the past 50 years is the big, blue-lettered “50th Anniversary” sign on the front of the building.

If you grew up in Portland and had the occasion to witness any “last calls,” you probably, at some point, found yourself slumping in one of the bright red booths complemented by matching red Formica tabletops. And if you didn’t, your parents did Ñ maybe even in its pre-1955 days when it was the Pirates Cove, complete with large frightening pirate figures on the roof.

“I used to come in when I was in my teens and early 20s at 3 in the morning,” says Raven Naylor, a 27-year-old server and cashier. “I walked in one weekend and asked, ‘Are you guys hiring?’ and they said, ‘Show up Monday wearing clean jeans.’”

While the 24-hour competition comes and goes (there’s the Roxy on Southwest Stark Street, the TikTok’s two locations in outer Southeast and Holman’s on Southeast 28th Avenue Ñ open all night on the weekends), the Hotcake House does what it does best: offering up simple fare for a varied clientele that appreciates pre-dawn hotcakes or lunchtime burgers and sees the Little League team pictures on the wall as providing just the right touch of hometown ambience.

And the peak hours never waver: The busiest times are on the weekends from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“As soon as the sun goes down,” says manager Dwight Mills, whose parents, Peter and Cheree Nosack, bought the place in 1978 and now are retired. “It’s a whole different crowd. By 3 a.m., you can hardly get in here.”

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