Kids line up eagerly at the pancake grill, but they don’t stay there for long. Grabbing their plates, they back away from the grill and the air fills with hurtling flapjacks.

            Jim Kuper, also known as the Pancake Man, is perhaps the most well-known pancake cook in the midwest. He started his craft nineteen years ago building a grill for a pancake breakfast at St. Patrick’s Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After deciding to quit his job as a sales manager for a farm equipment company he devoted his time to the pancake business. “It started as a casual undertaking at my church and quickly turned into a career,” says Kuper.

            Jim learned quickly that the pancake business comprised of 50% great buttermilk pancakes made from scratch and 50% entertainment. “Anyone can make pancakes but it’s the show that really catches the person’s eye,” says Kuper. He has learned over the years how to flip pancakes behind his back and over his head to an awaiting plate. Customers challenge Jim everyday to flip pancake farther and farther. His accuracy is right on up to thirty feet and when customers are as far away as a two-story balcony it comes in handy. “I’ve always looked at the grill as my stage and the customers, my audience,” says Kuper.

            Although “The Pancake Man” is still just a small business it has grown over the years. Originally it started as a single grill operation but has expanded into two operations with the help of others such as his son, John. “You have your busy days and your slow days,” says Kuper. “You’ve got to catch the business when you can get it and that is where my employees step in.”

            Currently “The Pancake Man” serves up fresh hotcakes for school fundraisers, churches, sporting events, and company picnics. “I’ve done just about everything but a wedding,” Jim says. “But we’d be more than willing to give it a go.” He estimates that he has made between five and six million pancakes in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas.  Group sizes range anywhere from 150 to 3,000.  

            “The most important part of The Pancake Man is the people because they make the job easier,” says Kuper.  When your daily routine may consist of rising at 3:30 a.m. and put on a smile as bright as the sun for the hungry eaters of the morning, it's always nice to have friendly folks there to welcome you. “It’s always been a funny thing to me that I picked such an early morning career,” says Kuper “But once I get out of that truck to start the day I know, it’s Showtime!”

Attribution: Kevin Potter, The Daily Nonpareil