Column: Good eggs at Pancake House in TD Worth the Ride
Momma Jane’s Gratitude Extravaganza
Barry and Kaye at Momma Jane’s Pancake House blast out some gratitude for 2024 after coming through the COVID storm.
Our Ace in the Hole, Nancy Turner
By Nancy Turner
The Dalles, Ore., Jan 18, 2024 — Dinner on the first was a first.
Never before has there been such a party in The Dalles on New Year’s Day.
Let me tell you about it. I wasn’t there, being the new kid in town, but the owners of Momma Jane’s Pancake House told me all about it. I’m not a restaurant reviewer, but there’s an exceptional story to be told that goes way beyond good food.
Momma Jane’s is at 900 W. Sixth Street in TD, and features some great memorabilia and don’t forget to ask about those Kitche coffee cups.
Kaye Smith and Barry Springer, a married couple living in The Dalles, own Momma Jane’s Pancake House. It’s a hub of social activity, camaraderie, and fabulous food on W 6th Street, in The Dalles. The exterior of the building doesn’t look that unusual, but inside, it’s a whole different story. The walls are covered with biker plaques, signs and American memorabilia. Practically every inch of wall space has something novel to look at. It’s a quaint, retro, and fun place.
In the old days, truckers doing a long haul looked for signs on the road that read, “Clean Bathrooms.” A customer brought in one of those antique signs. Directions to the bathroom are always useful. And while you’re up, you might as well hum the tune of “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The actual words are “There’s a bad moon on the rise.” But, really, it sounds more like, “There’s a bathroom on the right.”
The food is American style. As one person put it, “They make their own coconut syrups for their pancakes that is out of this world. Yes, it’s sold by the bottle, if you can’t live without it. The Eggs Benedict is phenomenal. When the place is packed, you probably will have to wait for your food. It’s not a fast food joint.”
COVID Party People
It’s no wonder some people have been coming here every day for over forty years.
Another person commented, “The food was amazing! The kind of sustenance that leaves you full until bedtime and cozy like a blanket pulled from the dryer on a cold winter night.”
I met Barry and Kaye at their restaurant on their day off. Barry is a biker, looking the part with a grizzled grey beard. No wonder model motorcycles and biker memorabilia are on display.
Kaye is a pretty blond. When I arrived, she was busy with the staff, tending the till and delivering food to tables of hungry guests. She does whatever’s needed. Barry is the cook.
“I thought this was your day off. But you’re working,” I commented.
“Oh, I’m just helping out,” replies Kaye.
Where does she get her energy? She says it comes from being of service to people.
Barry started cooking when he was 23. He’s now 57, and still going strong. He worked at Denny’s in The Dalles as a line cook for 34 years. Kaye worked there too. They had the same boss. That’s how they met. He began cooking for Jane Sheppard (the previous owner) in 2001.
COVID Party People
Did you Know about Pat?
To give you a little history, the restaurant began in the 1960’s as Pat’s Pancake House. Jane Sheppard then owned it from 1990 to 2010. The Sheppards changed the name to “The Pancake House.” There was a problem with that. An incorporated business in Tillamook had exclusive rights to the name.
Jane wondered what name to use. It was a customer who gave her an idea. Every morning a retired trooper, Harrison Boler, came in saying, “Hey Momma Jane, how you doing?” Now you know how that problem was solved. A customer saved the day.
In 2010, Jane sold the restaurant on contract. When the new owner failed to keep up her end of the bargain, Jane took it back. At the time, Jane had been enjoying retirement, but she loved the place and was okay returning to work. She joked that Momma Jane’s was going green by “recycling” owners. In 2016, she sold it to Kaye and Barry.
Surviving COVID was not easy for anyone, but imagine you’re in the restaurant business. There’s a small margin of profit in the best of times. Momma Jane’s was shut down for a total of five months. No inside seating allowed. Employees received unemployment. Times were rough.
Clyde Rosa and Barry Springer set up a table on the sidewalk outside of Momma Jane’s restaurant this afternoon, Thursday, April 29, 2021. The two men were bringing most of the indoor tables outside to provide seating for customers as Wasco County has gone to ‘Extreme Risk’ for COVID-19 after 74 cases were tallied during the last two weeks. The risk rating triggered the elimination of indoor dining starting tomorrow, Friday, April 30. “We’re not happy about this at all,” Springer said. “We’re going to make do.”
During COVID, the law required everyone to wear a mask in public. People were not allowed inside restaurants. At first, Momma Janes did take-out orders only. Then James, a patron of the restaurant, donated a big, green army tent. Behind that, the owners put up a white tent and strung lights inside. These investments, along with propane heaters, cost thousands of dollars. People brought their own chairs so they could sit outside where there was plenty of ventilation, even when the weather was 20 degrees. Regulars came every morning, as usual, and sat in the old dusty tents. A few of those fellows also came later in the day for a second meal.
The Dalles Police kept an eye on the tents. They didn’t just drive through the parking lot. They parked their cars and walked around the tents to be sure all was safe. Even so, when nobody was around, someone clipped the zip ties holding the tents closed, and stole the propane heaters. Those hot items cost $150 each. Even though the video cameras showed clear evidence of who did it, the police had their hands tied. They weren’t permitted to arrest the thieves because of COVID restrictions requiring distancing, which was impossible in jail, but sometimes they knew where the culprit hung out. The police retrieved the stolen heaters, and that was very helpful.
One time the security camera caught a houseless person stealing a picture that had been hanging in one of the tents. It was a $30 picture Kaye had purchased at Hobby Lobby. Certainly not an expensive piece of art, but to Kaye, it was priceless. The vintage picture of wheat fields, a barn, and a red truck warmed her heart. Every time she looked at it, she thought of the beautiful farmland surrounding The Dalles.
When the police reviewed the security camera video, they recognized the thief. They went to him and said, “You have something that doesn’t belong to you. We want it back.” The man was not arrested; the picture was returned. Kaye now keeps it safely hanging on a wall at home.
One thing Barry and Kaye wanted to be sure I wrote about was how appreciative they are of the local police for their help. If it hadn’t been for them, things could have gotten a whole lot worse. So, to The Dalles Police, THANK YOU! You guys rock.
Eventually, the COVID restrictions were lifted and business returned to normal. Barry and Kaye were over-the-top grateful their patrons kept coming in spite of the challenges of eating in a tent. For months they wanted to show appreciation. If it hadn’t been for their support, the business would have folded. They decided to throw an appreciation dinner on New Year’s Day 2024. They would do all the cooking and it would be a free dinner for everyone who came.
COVID Party People
They personally invited the regulars, even if they didn’t know their names, and got in touch with as many people as possible. You know how it is, like for a wedding, when you invite a mass of people and usually about 50% show up. For this party, 90% showed up. The place was packed. Kaye and Barry gave heartfelt speeches of gratitude. People got teary-eyed. The food, of course, was delicious. What a party! Click here to check out more New Year’s Day party photos.
If you weren't included, please don’t have hurt feelings. Kaye and Barry did their best to reach as many people as possible. They want to do it again, maybe in the summer when folks can fill the restaurant and also sit outside.
Momma Jane’s is plenty busy in November and December with family visiting from out of town. Then in January and February, business is slow. When I asked what’s the hardest part of owning a restaurant, they said that sometimes they have to cut back on staff work hours. If it snows, things get really slow. They love their staff and hate to reduce their income.
You might have noticed a truck parked out front, with three cocker spaniels sitting on top of the cab. That means Donnie Lewis, AKA Dog Man, is having breakfast. His dogs, Schroeder, Pepper Mint Patty (Patty) and Charlie Brown are regulars at Momma Jane’s. Sometimes Schroeder jumps down from the truck and comes to the back door expecting to be seated (not happening.) Donnie’s yard is littered with old vehicles. He’s collected twenty-four cars, all originals, not rebuilt, and old Army trucks. A drawing of his car with a bed on the back, like a pickup, is on a painting just inside the front door at Momma Jane’s.
On the left side of the same door is a large kidney-shaped table. It’s a community table and popular hangout for a group of guys that show up every morning. Sometimes there are ten guys scrunched around the table, telling jokes, gossiping, and solving the world’s problems. These men, all retired, get to be silly, like the boys they used to be decades ago. Kaye said, with great affection toward her patrons, that she didn’t know whether to call the place a daycare or senior center.
The community table is also known as the “Liar’s Table.” You never know what you might hear. Plenty of stories, some true and some not. Someday I want to join the fellows at that table. I’ll tell everyone I won the Pulitzer Prize and drive a Porsche. Pure BS.
The staff form friendships with people who eat here on a regular basis. This is not a chain; it’s a family business. Donny Peterson and Theron Keller started coming here in the 60’s. They’d still be coming if they hadn’t passed away. There’s a drawing of Theron’s 1960 GMC truck on the front of the menu. They are missed.
Kaye told me about a fellow who showed up for breakfast at the same time every morning. The staff got to know him. It got so they would fix his breakfast and have it waiting for him when he walked in. If he didn’t show up on time, they called him and told him to hurry up; he was late.
In the restaurant business, staff turnover is expensive. Keeping staff happy is important for stability and good service. Pay and benefits are important, and so is a supportive work environment. Compassion is key. Since Momma Jane’s is open from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m., there are just two shifts for the staff. Kaye explained why. “In the summer, by afternoon people want to be on the river. They don’t want to be at work. Everybody has a life, so no evening shift. Keeps everybody happy.”
Owning and running a restaurant is not a get-rich-quick business. It’s hard work, long hours. I asked Kaye and Barry, what is most rewarding?
“The positive things people say on Facebook and Google. The comments mean the world to us. This place is like a little bit of Americana, to have a dream and have it work out so well,” answered Kaye.
Barry beamed, “Worth the ride!”
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