Sometimes you want to go where the pancakes are as big as your face, and the warm greeting you get when you walk in the door is liking coming home to family on the holidays (the ones you actually like, that is).
Welcome to Grumpy’s Cafe. You’ll know it by its bright blue exterior, sitting on the corner of Second Street and Hwy 101. Owned by Nikkie Sampson and her parents, this family-run restaurant has been serving up laughs and old-fashioned, hometown cooking since 2011.
“We named it after my dad, “Nikki said. “The name was the last thing we had to come up with…I called him and said ‘Grumpy’s?’ He said ‘absolutely not!’”
Nikki and her parents are originally from Missoula, Mont., but settled in Rockaway Beach just over a decade ago. She had wanted a place to sell her baked goods when they found what used to be The Beach Pancake House. “I was originally looking for a place to do a bakery and ended up with a whole entire restaurant!” she said.
Grumpy’s Cafe is definitely well known for its baked goods, courtesy of Nikki herself, but the restaurant also boasts scrumptious breakfasts with huge portions and low prices. If you don’t get here early, you might be waiting to get seated. Locals and visitors alike can’t get enough of the friendly service, inviting atmosphere and finger-licking good food.
And of course, the ghost Roger keeps people coming back, too.
“He was here when we acquired the building,” Nikki said. “ We don’t know who it is, but have named him Roger.”
Roger is best known for knocking things off the shelf, turning the water off if it’s left running, and occasionally moving things. Don’t worry – just like everything here in Rockaway Beach, Roger is perfectly friendly.
