Fluffy, fresh pancakes that melt on the tongue, biscuits and gravy that warm the soul, and gourmet donuts are only a few of the offerings at Hillsdale’s newest breakfast spot.
Sharon’s House of Pancakes opened to the public on March 18, and business has been thriving since. Although located in the food court inside Market House, the plated dishes and full dining room makes the experience feel far removed from a grocery store.
The restaurant offers a variety of breakfast options besides pancakes, including french toast, cinnamon bread, omelets, oatmeal, burritos, and corned beef hash. Because Sharon’s is located in and owned by Market House, the restaurant has the freedom to use meats, produce, and bakery items fresh from the store.
Wayne Babcock, founder and former owner of Olivia’s Chop House and Saucy Dog’s Barbeque, as well as cook at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, was hired to consult and help start the new restaurant.
“I’ve been associated with a lot of restaurants in my life,” Babcock said. “But this is about the only restaurant I’ve ever been associated with where there’s a full-time bakery that we get all our bread, donuts, and biscuits from. We have a full-time butcher right around the corner. We have everything here so that we can make good quality food every time.”
Babcock said he enjoys all of the food, but especially enjoys what he hopes the restaurant will come to be known for: pancakes.
“I think our pancakes are top-notch, the best around. We make it all in-house from scratch,” Babcock said.
Head Chef Dustin Furlong, who has worked with Babcock for 20 years, said he enjoys creating dishes using the fresh ingredients from Market House.
“The biscuits and gravy has been a real big hit. We get all our ground pork from our butcher right here. Fresh ground pork, no additives. It’s pork, cream, salt, pepper, biscuit, which are made from scratch in our bakery,” Furlong said. “We also have homemade jams and we whip our own butter, too.”
According to Babcock, since opening a week ago, customers have already been flocking to Sharon’s.
“I believe on Sunday we had close to a little over 400 people, just on Sunday. And then we had about 380 people on Saturday coming for breakfast nonstop, pretty much open to close,” Babcock said.
Brett Boyd, the owner of Market House, said he is inspired by the success of Sharon’s so far.
“It was a very inspiring week. We have a lot of great people, great staff, and the food was great. It was great to see a lot of smiling faces from our community and a lot of folks from the college coming out and enjoying great food,” Boyd said. “We’re looking forward to a really great future here. My grandma passed away a few years ago but we named it in honor of her, and I know she was smiling down.”