Free Pancakes for National Pancake Day!

Free short stacks of IHOP buttermilk pancakes and A Hope Center-Crisis Pregnancy Center of Fort Wayne will be the focus of the 2010 National Pancake Day celebration at three Fort Wayne IHOPs (located at 6839 West Jefferson Boulevard, 4403 Coldwater Road, and 1535 West Washington Center Road) on Tuesday, February 23rd. The local restaurants, owned by Womack Restaurants, will join 1,400 IHOP restaurants nationwide in the celebration.

Fort Wayne residents are invited to visit one of the local IHOP restaurants between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. to receive their free short stack of (three) IHOP signature buttermilk pancakes and to consider making a voluntary contribution to A Hope Center-Crisis Pregnancy Center of Fort Wayne. National Pancake Day has been celebrated by IHOPs nationwide since 2006, raising nearly $3.25 dollars to support the Children’s Miracle Network and other local charities.

“National Pancake Day has become a tradition for many families who come to their local IHOP for great food and service, states Scott Womack, president of Womack Restaurants, an IHOP franchisee with 9 Indiana and two Ohio locations. “This event also allows us raise money and awareness for some important local charities. In 2009, our IHOP restaurants raised $9,000 on National Pancake Day, nearly doubling the donations raised during our 2008 event, said Womack. “We also served up over 9,400 free short pancake stacks to our local communities.”

Pancake Day has been celebrated for centuries in England, as people prepared for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products; hence the name Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday