CBS3 SummerFest: 3rd-generation owner credits consistency as reason Uncle Bill's Pancake House is Jersey Shore staple
AVALON, N.J. (CBS) – Call it a staple of a summer trip to the Jersey Shore. Whether you're in Stone Harbor, Cape May or Avalon, for many families, vacation wouldn't be complete without a stop at Uncle Bill's Pancake House.
There's lots of options on the menu but, of course, patrons really flip for the pancakes.
"I like the energy of summer," Casey O'Hara, the owner, said.
Follow the plates of pancakes and you'll find many happy faces.
"I don't know if it's because they're on vacation that they are super, super happy. This is a lot of people's, obviously, their happy place," O'Hara said.
For generations of shore-goers, Uncle Bill's Pancake House is a family tradition.
"We walked the whole street just to come here from the opposite end because we know it's so good," an Uncle Bill's customer said.
"We come here every year when we vacation," Tina Mulvena, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, said. "And it just makes us feel like we're at home."
The original location started 60 years ago in neighboring Stone Harbor.
Third-generation owner O'Hara believes it's the consistency that keeps customers coming back summer after summer.
"They come here and they see me, they see the same manager in here, year in and year out," O'Hara said. "They see my sister in Stone Harbor Uncle Bill's. You know the same consistency. They see our family running and operating the business and I think a lot of people, for the most part, have an appreciation for that."
And of course, they also have an appetite for the pancakes.
"A fan favorite for it seems like young and old is the chocolate chip pancakes," O'Hara said. "We go through a ton of them. Blueberries are amazing this time of year because the blueberries all come from Hammonton."
So, what's behind the fabulous flavor? O'Hara credits the water.
"There is no special formula. There is nothing crazy thing to it. It's that Jersey Shore Water," O'Hara said.
Jersey Shore water and a Jersey Shore tradition that continues for so many families.
"It's the customers that keep you coming back, for sure, and keep you wanting to do it," O'Hara said.