The Original Pancake House was founded in Portland, Ore., in 1953 by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke. Brothers Wallace and Monty Guberman brought the brand to Winnipeg five years later when they established the city’s first Original Pancake House at 1049 Pembina Hwy.
The Gubermans’ association with their American counterparts lasted less than 12 months. Interestingly, that hasn’t prevented Terry Friesen, the local chain’s present-day general manager, from fielding inquiries from parties south of the border whose order of flapjacks failed to stack up.
“The American restaurants don’t have the greatest web presence. Every once in a while we’re contacted by somebody complaining about a meal they had in Florida or Georgia or wherever,” Friesen says, seated inside the Original Pancake House’s Polo Park-area location, where colourful placards advertising 65 years in the Winnipeg market are on display.
Whenever he takes such a call, Friesen allows the person on the other end of the line to vent for a couple of minutes before informing them they’re actually calling “Winnipeg, Canada.”
That’s when they typically pause for a second or two before muttering, “Uh, where?”
“Then, after we share a chuckle, I tell them that if they’re ever up this way, we’d be more than happy to help them out.”
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Terry Friesen, general manager, holds the Original Pancake House’s signature dish, a Giant Apple Pancake.
Friesen, who also oversees operations at the chain’s other two restaurants, at 2220 McGillivray Blvd. and The Forks Market, was born and raised in Saskatoon. But he was already familiar with the Original Pancake House when he started there as assistant general manager in 2012.
“After moving to Winnipeg, I lived a few blocks over from here, on Strathcona (Street). This is where my wife and I came for breakfast on a regular basis,” he says.
He laughs as he recalls that the Pembina Highway locale, which closed in 2021, was where he and a former girlfriend broke up over bacon and eggs.
”To many we are not just a pancake house, but more like a pancake home.”–Hazel Kushner
Still, much of what Friesen has learned about the local operation was gleaned from staff — some of whom have been working there for 25 years — as well as customers who’ve been dining there for twice that long, often in a preferred section.
During multiple conversations, he ascertained the concept was a runaway hit from the outset. In the 1950s and ’60s, the Pembina location catered to an after-theatre crowd that lined up for tables into the wee hours of the night.
He also came to understand that it’s almost a rite of passage for parents to introduce their children to a Giant Apple Pancake, the resto’s longtime signature dish, in the same manner their parents treated them when they were youngsters.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS One 99-year-old customer told her kids the only thing she wanted for her birthday was a Giant Apple Pancake.
(As for famous faces that chowed down there prior to his arrival, the long list includes actor Nia Vardalos, members of American thrash metal group Megadeth and standup comedian Russell Peters.)
Friesen and his staff aren’t planning to mark the Original Pancake House’s 65th birthday with anything quite as gluttonous as the pancake-eating contest that was held at The Forks in honour of the restaurant’s 60th anniversary.
Instead, there have been a raft of giveaways, including measuring cups and maple-syrup-scented candles, with more celebrations on the way. That includes a number of food specials.
“We have an avocado promotion set for July. Although I can’t imagine avocado toast was on the minds of the menu planners back in the day, it’s a popular everyday item for breakfast eaters now,” says Friesen, who doesn’t waffle when asked how often he dives into an order of pancakes.
“It sometimes means hitting the gym more than I’d like. But yeah, they’re kind of hard to resist when you’re walking through the kitchen. But it’s all in the name of quality control, right?” he adds with a wink.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Original Pancake House has three locations in town, including one on McGillivray.
Hazel Kushner and Alan Guberman, the son of Wallace Guberman, assumed ownership of the Original Pancake House after the elder Guberman, who was predeceased by his brother Monty in 1991, died in 2004.
Sign of the times
The first Original Pancake House on Pembina Highway was sold in 2021 to pave the way for an expanded Vic’s Fruit Market.
Ever since, general manager Terry Friesen has been asked what happened to the sign that stood outside the locale for decades, the one with an image of a mustachioed chef flipping the resto’s namesake dish.
The first Original Pancake House on Pembina Highway was sold in 2021 to pave the way for an expanded Vic’s Fruit Market.
Ever since, general manager Terry Friesen has been asked what happened to the sign that stood outside the locale for decades, the one with an image of a mustachioed chef flipping the resto’s namesake dish.
For many, the two-storey structure was as much a Winnipeg landmark as the Golden Boy or the tramp mural on Portage Avenue indicating the 54-mile distance to Portage la Prairie.
In answer to their question, Friesen says the original sign was included in the sale of the property to Vic’s owner Scott Schreimer.
Standing in the produce aisle of his store, Schreimer acknowledges the sign is his to do with as he pleases. He has reached out to a number of Original Pancake House locations in the United States to see if any of them are interested in it but so far, no takers.
“Right now it’s in a safe place but hey, who knows? Maybe somebody who loved going to the old Pancake House will read this and want it for their front yard,” he says with a chuckle.
Kushner says it’s impossible not to break into a smile when expat Winnipeggers let her or a server know that they made the Original Pancake House their first stop after landing at the airport, ahead of visiting friends and family.
She also cites a recent “99-year-young” guest, whose lone birthday wish was for her children to treat her to a Giant Apple Pancake.
“To many we are not just a pancake house,” Kushner says, “but more like a pancake home.”
Reached at his home in Ottawa, Alan Guberman, a physician, says it’s difficult to believe it’s been 65 years since his father and uncle opened the Original Pancake House in Winnipeg, “with its iconic sign on Pembina Highway.”
“Given that many restaurants don’t survive more than a year or two, we are both proud and thankful for our longevity,” he says, mentioning his first part-time job was washing dishes and bussing tables there in the 1960s.
“Over the years we have strived, successfully I believe, to evolve with the times and respond to the food preferences and needs of our patrons,” he goes on.
“One very important part of our mission has been to support the wonderful Winnipeg community that has kept us going for 65 years. Uncountable number of students have helped finance their education by working at our stores. We have made a special effort over the years to offer jobs to new immigrants.”
As for plans down the road, stay tuned, says Friesen, pausing to say “enjoy your breakfast” to a fellow at a nearby table about to dive into a Mediterranean omelette.
“We’re hoping to have some news about another location, maybe early next year. We’re definitely proud of our past but at the same time we’re always thinking about our future.”
