A popular Edmonton diner that serves up pancakes the size of your head has opened a new branch in St. Albert.
Foodies flocked to Hathaway’s Diner across the road from St. Albert Fire Station No. 2 last Sept. 14 for its third weekend of operation in St. Albert. The popular breakfast, lunch, and pie place was packed to capacity at 10 a.m., with about a dozen people waiting outside to get in.
The diner has been extremely busy ever since it opened on Aug. 30, said owner Mitch Halabi.
“We’ve had about 100 people waiting in line to get in.”
Halabi said he grew up in the restaurant business and decided to buy Hathaway’s from its original owners about six years ago. The restaurant’s homemade diner food and 1950s-1960s gas-station décor caught on, earning it a spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in Canada list in 2021.
Halabi said he never wanted to open a second location and passed on many chances to do so in Edmonton out of concern that it would compromise the diner’s quality. But after experiencing the community in St. Albert, he decided to expand into this city when the chance presented itself, figuring that it was close enough that he could split his time between the two locations.
“I’ve always loved good food and people,” he said, and the community here in St. Albert was very supportive.
Halabi said Hathaway’s specializes in homemade food and excellent customer service.
“I try to teach my staff every day to be good people and work hard,” he said.
“Everybody gets treated like family when they enter my restaurant.”
Unlike the Edmonton location, which is stuffed full of vintage gas station memorabilia, the St. Albert Hathaway’s has an open, modern look, with chalk art on the walls, white and red seating, and plenty of sunlight through the giant windows.
Halabi said the original outlet’s look took years to create and would have been tough to replicate. Instead, he went with a “super clean, very fresh look” to give the St. Albert outlet its own character.
Halabi said the St. Albert outlet features many unique dishes to distinguish itself from its predecessor, including chicken and waffles, stuffed French toast, and a California chicken sandwich. Also on the menu are the eggs, burgers, and exceptionally large pancakes that have brought Hathaway’s its fame.
“Our pancakes are huge,” Halabi said, with each averaging about 25 cm in diameter.
“It’s very rare that we see someone finish a whole stack [of five].”
The star attraction at Hathaway’s is likely its gigantic pies, the slices of which are roughly 7 cm thick.
“My mom [Helen Halabi] makes our pies in house daily,” Halabi said, rotating through about 60 flavours throughout the year with the help of a small crew of pie-makers.
“We sell out daily.”
On the menu last weekend were strawberry, banana cream, Oreo, Dunkaroo, and “puppy” pies — the last of which were oat flower, egg, and pumpkin pies designed for dogs. Halabi said the puppy pies started out as a joke two years ago but caught on, and were now offered in various pet stores.
Halabi said he didn’t plan to launch any more branches of Hathaway’s for now, but didn’t rule out a franchise if the St. Albert outlet took off.
Hathaway’s Diner is at 140 Bellerose Drive next to the Good Earth Coffeehouse and open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. Visit hathawaysdiner.com for details.
