Soon-to-move Sands Pancake House is host to array of regulars

Pamela Bain serves regular customers, from left, Wayne Nesslein, Earl Buchheit and Earl James on Friday, Sept. 15 at Sands Pancake House in Cape Girardeau.

Fred Lynch

It's an unassuming brick building, tucked into a corner of the Budget Inn parking lot at 1448 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, but seven mornings a week, Sands Pancake House packs in the regular crowd.

Some are young people, college football players or newlywed couples, but the core of the regular crowd at Sands are retired men.

Many live nearby.

Wayne Nesslein has been coming to Sands for conversation and a hot cup of coffee for about 10 years now, he says.

As of Sept. 24, the little brick building is no longer home to the pancake house.

Leonard Hines, a longtime regular customer, reads the newspaper before breakfast Friday, Sept. 15, at Sands Pancake House in Cape Girardeau.

Fred Lynch

Sands Pancake House is moving to 602 Morgan Oak St. in Cape Girardeau, former site of Brenda's Place, according to pancake house owner Betty Collins.

The new location will open in late September or early October.

It will be a bigger establishment at the new location, Nesslein allowed, but he thinks it's possible some of the sense of place will be lost in the shuffle.

Sands Pancake House was originally built to feed hungry customers of the Sands Motel, now the Budget Inn, according to a May 25, 1986, article in the Bulletin Journal, a newspaper formerly operating in Cape Girardeau.

Evelyn Bahn, who with her husband Louis opened Sands Motel in 1953, is quoted in the article saying, "We opened the restaurant in 1964, but we had very little money left to stock the pantry. All we could afford was some flour, milk, shortening and a little sausage and bacon. Pancakes was one of the cheaper things we could make, so it became the Pancake House."

That eye toward simplicity is still evident early on a weekday morning in September. Dark wood paneling on the walls and faded curtains evoke a certain "we haven't redecorated in a few decades" feel, while the metal chairs with vinyl padded seats and long, dark tables should feel utilitarian but instead feel exactly right.

Booths line the walls, and a servers' station houses a mammoth coffee machine, but the middle of the room is for the regulars' tables.

The crowd has thinned out from its early numbers, Nesslein says, but "they come in shifts, you know."

He's not really joking.

The early crowd comes in right at opening, 5 a.m. every day, Nesslein says. "Mostly fishermen," he says, wryly. Not professional fishermen, but guys who load up their gear after a stop at Sands, he says.

Another group of guys comes in at about 6:30 or 7 usually, he says, and another around 8 a.m., but there's no formality about it.

"Just happens that way," Nesslein says.

"It's the realm of retired guys," he adds, chuckling into his coffee mug.

He's at a table with Earl James and Earl Buchheit, each with a mug of coffee.

Not that they only come for the coffee, Nesslein says.

"Sands is a good place to get a full breakfast that's not a biscuit sandwich," he says.

That, and it's a great place for advice.

"You can find out about anything," Nesslein says. "You have a question about your house, your business, somebody'll know something. Repairs, maintenance, cars -- who's a good salesman to go to at a dealer, for example."

About a year ago, when Sands went smoke-free, Nesslein says, the crowd dynamic changed up a bit, especially on Sundays.

"That helped bring in the church crowd," he says.

Certain groups have certain times they'll come in, besides, Nesslein says. Antique car clubs, church groups, clubs and other organizations will bring in a few people to enjoy the food and atmosphere.

But at the regulars' table, the coffee isn't always the hottest thing.

"There's a lot of political discussion," James says. "We're a diversified group -- mostly Republican, but there are two Democrats. Well, one claims Democrat."

Leonard Hines has sat down sometime in the last few minutes, newspaper in hand, and somehow already has a cup of ice water next to his mug of coffee.

Hines has been attending seven days a week since 1981, he says.

"I'm here for the camaraderie," he says. "Not so much the political news."

It gets pretty rank sometimes, he adds, shuffling the newspaper pages.

"We're almost like-minded," Nesslein says.

Some of the guys in the group were in banking, before retirement. Others were in sales.

People move away, Nesslein says, but they find their way back to Sands, especially while they're visiting Southeast Missouri.

As to whether the pancake house's move will affect who attends these daily breakfasts, Nesslein says, "Some will go, some won't. Distance is a factor, but it's a place, you know."