South Bay still flips for Family House of Pancakes

By Anna Ven Sobreviñas and Ailsa Alipusan | Assistant Campus Editors

At Chula Vista’s breakfast Mecca, wisdom comes with butter and syrup. When life gives you lemons, make pancakes.

Just a spatula flip away from a venerable Chula Vista lemon orchard, New Jersey natives James and Madeline Spezzano established a folksy business in 1964 that became a South Bay citadel, the Family House of Pancakes. A Southwestern College business administration major plans to keep it that way.

Sebastian Spezzano is Chula Vista breakfast royalty, and grandson of James and Madeline. He is already working as one of the restaurant’s managers.

“My grandmother took over ‘cause my father was too young,” said Spezzano. “He was in eigth grade, I think, when his dad died and she took over until he was ready. When I was born my dad just basically taught me everything he knew.”

Grandpa James’ recipe creates palatable pancakes which are considered one of the best bargains in town. Family House of Pancakes was off to a fast start, 1964 but tragically the pancake patriarch James died unexpectedly in 1967. Devastated, Madeline continued to run the business on her own with hopes that one day her two children would take over.

James Jr. and his sister Linda came through and expanded the business. Their children are in the kitchen today, a third generation of Spezzanos preparing to take the pancake palace into its second 50 years.

Like the infinite patterns of maple syrup on pancakes, each of the descendants has something to bring to the breakfast table. James Jr. said he makes sure that a family member is always present. He is

proud of his children, he added with a toothy grin.

“It looks like they want to keep the tradition going on,” he said. “It entices them to get a better education to move forward with the new times and changes.”

Chula Vista was still a sleepy waystation between San Diego and Tijuana with fewer than 40,000 residents when the Spezzano family was pouring their family recipe on the griddle. Three generations later the business is a CV treasure.

“I felt we made an impact,” said James. “People are well aware of us, not only in the San Diego area, but we have people coming from Orange County.”

Banana pecan pancakes are a specialty, as are peach cobbler crêpes, beef lasagna, huevos mexicano and enormous omelets.

“Breakfast is the meal you start the day with and puts your attitude either positive or negative,” said James Jr.. “We also sell a lot of breakfast at dinner time, so I think breakfast is an important meal that everybody likes.”

Family House of Pancakes expanded into National City in 2003 and became known as “FHOP.” There are plans to open a new location in Eastlake.

Sebastian’s sister Shanti, a broadcast journalism major, said they have witnessed kids growing up in the restaurant. Sebastian said he is familiar with almost everyone who comes in.

“You wake up in the morning, drink some coffee, read the paper, get your day started with a bunch of people and have a nice conversation before everybody goes to work,” said Sebastian.

Adlai and Sandra Mack have been patrons of the restaurant for 33 years. Sandra said they raised their kids there.

“The waitresses are exceptional,” said Sandra. “They’re warm, they remember you, they remember what you like to eat. They are courteous.”

FHOP employee Anthony Gomez said the business thrives because it places its customers on a sweet pedestal. “It’s called the Family House because everyone really feels like family,” he said. “That’s brought on by the way the ownership handles employees, customers and every situation inside the restaurant.”

The Spezzano family can count on its strong roots in the community.

“We don’t really have that much competition,” said Shanti. “We’re like more homestyle when (others are) more franchised.”

Commercial competitors buy advertising, but James said he is nonplussed.

“Word of mouth is the best advertisement for you,” he said. “We are not funded for advertising at all. We don’t advertise. It’s only word of mouth and our prices. We very seldom raise (prices).”

The Prince of Pancakes said his restaurant stacks up well against the iFranchise because even in the Age of the Individual, families are still where it’s at. Buttermilk beauty, plain or with blueberries, warms the stomach and the heart.