Uncle Bill’s Pancake House nears reopening after yearlong restoration

The long-awaited reopening of Uncle Bill’s Pancake House (3427 S. Kingshighway) is just around the corner, according to owner Ivan Garcia of Garcia Properties.

After a year-long, top-to-bottom renovation, the iconic restaurant that came on the scene more than 60 years ago and touched generations of St. Louisans is nearly ready to open its doors.

The restaurant is slated to open from 6 a.m.–2 p.m. next Monday through Friday. (It will be closed this weekend and next weekend.)

The Backstory

The decision to take on a major hospitality project like Uncle Bill’s follows Ivan and Berto Garcia’s success in opening The Golden Hoosier in 2021, followed by Bud’s Pizza & Beer in 2024. Taking on the historic restaurant is another win for the neighborhood they’ve reinvigorated through their brick-and-mortar investments along Kingshighway.

The Uncle Bill’s Pancake House building was originally constructed in 1932 by Bill S. Medart as a burger restaurant that he named Medart’s. Its German hunting lodge–style references Medart’s Cheshire Inn on Clayton Road. Phillip Medart ran it until it closed in 1956. The building went through a few iterations before Bill Ernst opened the eponymously named Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in 1961. The name stuck, but ownership shifted to Bill Choi 20 years later.

Its vaunted neon sign went dark in October 2024, when the Choi family closed the place. Garcia Properties bought the celebrated landmark in March 2025 and took on the job of restoring it, paying heed to every detail in the process. They named the job “Project Pancake.”

The Menu

“Our goal with the menu was to have the things that people expected when they think of Uncle Bill’s but also to elevate it in a way that matched all the work we’ve put into,” says Ryan Cooper, executive chef for Garcia Hospitality.

Many customer favorites remain on the menu, including the classic 4D (two eggs, two pancakes, two sausage links, and two bacon strips) and the 4D Supreme (everything in the 4D with the addition of hash browns). Pancakes and waffles come in myriad flavors and styles, including a new Polish-style potato pancake. “My wife’s family is Polish descendant, so we have her multi-generations family recipe we’re using on our menu,” says Cooper.

2x2x2x2 (4D): two eggs, two pancakes, two strips of bacon, two sausage links

“We’ve added some skillets that are served in cast iron, almost like fajitas,” adds Cooper. “The Slingshot is our slinger, and the Uncle Bill’s is a more traditional skillet. Tio Bill’s skillet uses chorizo, peppers, jalapeños, spicy ranch dressing, and more—it’s currently my favorite.”

Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich, with pepper jack cheese, spicy ranch, tomato, lettuce on brioche, served with French fries and a pickle

Eggs Benedict Mexi-Cali, with chorizo, smashed avocado, tomato, cilantro on an English muffin with two poached eggs and hollandaise, served with hash browns

The sandwiches and salads have been tweaked as well. “They’re a little more composed, as opposed to your classic diner burger or chicken on a bun. We’re doing more from scratch, a little bit on the upside to match all the work we’ve put into the restaurant but at the same price point in affordability.

The extensive menu also offers a selection of vegan and gluten-free choices. There’s even a gluten-free pie crust.

“We make heartwarming food that can make your day better,” says Cooper. “It’s approachable, hearty, and good.”

The Atmosphere

Many patrons remember the gallery entry, with its glass case displaying art and collectibles, its pecky cypress wood-paneled dining rooms, the diamond-paned stained-glass windows, and booth seating. These elements are still in place but fully restored.

Whimsical detail above front desk tells the wait time

Today, the surroundings can best be described as warm and homey, with fun touches throughout. The entire building is now clean and sparkling, from the outside stone and stucco to the interior. The ancient carpeting has been replaced by tile, and there are new bathrooms. The Garcias added benches outside for waiting customers.

To renovate the restaurant’s neon sign, Ivan called in Chris Staar of Alton-based Neon Works. “We went the extra mile to salvage as much of the original sign as we could,” Staar says.

In the kitchen, James Fawcett of Slipstream Creations restored an 800-pound Hobart mixer, removing the rust, replacing the feet, and painting a grinning shark on the head. Asked how the kitchen staff feels about it, Cooper says every cook loves it. “The people in the kitchen need some fun things when they work,” Ivan says. “Doing something interesting with the mixer adds a little levity to a hard job.”

Fawcett also made the patio furniture in the outdoor waiting area. “Ivan has such a great eye for details. Plus, he’s a really fun guy to work with,” Fawcett says. “We even built and powder-coated the security screens on the exterior windows in a pattern that matches the diamonds in the stained glass to keep the shapes clean when sun comes through.”

A newel post on the staircase to the second-floor offices now sports a custom sculpture of a stack of pancakes with butter and syrup, created by wooden sign makers Jeremy Keller and Scott Cuziak of Lazy River Signs. “When Ivan threw out sculpting a stack of pancakes, I thought it would be super simple,” Keller says. “But getting the syrup right was a challenge.”

Attention to detail shows in every part of the restored restaurant, which builds on a beloved South City institution. As Ivan said last December, “Why invent something new when people loved the old?”