{"id":132,"date":"2014-10-27T05:49:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T05:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=132"},"modified":"2015-01-09T17:04:18","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T22:04:18","slug":"where-did-richie-hebner-eat-his-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/27\/where-did-richie-hebner-eat-his-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"Where did Richie Hebner eat his breakfast?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Postcard <\/a>
Postcard showing interior of Lincoln Pancake Kitchen in Oakland, published by Addison Photo Service, made by Dexter Press. (Courtesy of Rudy Devine) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Aerial <\/a>
Aerial view of Oakland, 1969, The Pancake Kitchen was located on Forbes Avenue in Oakland (Courtesy of Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs.) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The inside of the restaurant. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Some of the best story ideas have come to \u201cThe Digs\u201d from our readers and followers. Most of these stories have led to discoveries and we are sharing here one of them.<\/p>\n

Remember a story from last month about the history of Pittsburgh\u2019s beloved \u201cPamela\u2019s\u201d<\/a>? Soon after we posted it, an email arrived challenging the popular notion that\u00a0 it was at Pamela\u2019s where Pittsburgh\u2019s tradition of serving magnificent breakfast and fantastic pancakes was invented, the tradition that has been attracting long lines of Pittsburghers, guests of the city and even celebrities. You saw it, you know how they congregate in lines that wrap around the corner for what has become known today as brunch. Well, that\u2019s not unprecedented.<\/p>\n

What was there before \u201cPamela\u2019s,\u201d you ask? As it turns out, \u201cPamela\u2019s\u201d followed and expanded upon the tradition set by a not less popular in the old days breakfast place called simply \u201cThe Pancake Kitchen.\u201d It was founded in 1963 by Rudy Sokol and located exactly at 3703 Forbes Avenue, the Oakland address of Pamela\u2019s today.<\/a><\/p>\n

Rudy Sokol started his restaurant business in the early 60s and not in Oakland. It began in Monroeville, where Sokol ran a restaurant called \u201cThe Continental Pancake Kitchen\u201d at the Terrace Motel. The business owner\u2019s hopes were high, but there was a lease dispute that forced Sokol to<\/a>\u00a0look for a different \u00a0location. Soon after, he opened The Lincoln Pancake Kitchen on Lincoln Highway. A\u00a0 fire destroyed that place. In spite of setbacks, Sokol persevered and eventually moved his restaurant to Oakland in 1963.<\/p>\n

It quickly became a popular location in the neighborhood. Every table offered rich choices of flavored syrups and because of its proximity to Forbes Field many Pittsburgh Pirates ate there. That\u2019s where the legendary third baseman Richie Hebner enjoyed his pancakes.<\/p>\n

In 1987, Rudy Sokol\u2019s health declined and he no longer could run his business. After his death, Sokol\u2019s daughter sold \u201cThe Pancake Kitchen\u201d to Pamela J. Cohen, the co-owner of Pamela\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Ready for the final twist? That email about \u201cThe Continental Kitchen\u201d came from Rudy Devine, the grandson of Rudy Sokol. He was generous to share with us details of his grandfather\u2019s story, the scanned postcard and links to the historic images you see here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of the best story ideas have come to \u201cThe Digs\u201d from our readers and followers. <\/p>\n

Look at the picturesWhere did Richie Hebner eat his breakfast?<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[969,974,977,989,1027,1036,1180],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_ne39i81EMs1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=740%2C597&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":217,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/29\/pamelas-pittsburghs-signature-breakfast-diner\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":0},"title":"Pamela’s, Pittsburgh’s signature breakfast diner","date":"September 29, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"If you ask a Pittsburgher where to find best pancakes in the city, the answer most likely would be, \u201cAt Pamela\u2019s.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_ncnbdwrjRj1rr5swxo2_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9302,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/12\/24\/pittsburgh-christmas-photos-old-traditions\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":1},"title":"Photos from Pittsburgh’s Christmases past","date":"December 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas is a holiday of traditions, and every city has its own. 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Today, many Pittsburghers mark the beginning of the holiday season by crowding Downtown for Light\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/christmas042.jpg?fit=1200%2C745&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":364,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/13\/market-square-pittsburghs-original-gathering-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":2},"title":"Market Square: Pittsburgh\u2019s original gathering space","date":"August 13, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The area has remained Pittsburgh\u2019s restless epicenter.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/tumblr_na7pdb9XsD1rr5swxo6_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C749&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4944,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/02\/04\/the-construction-of-pittsburghs-downtown-subway\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":3},"title":"The construction of Pittsburgh’s Downtown subway","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The T was 75 years in the making, and while it still doesn't go as far as many Pittsburghers would like, it did help improve the city's 20th century Downtown traffic headaches.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Pittsburgh-subway-construction-013.jpg?fit=814%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2047,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/02\/15\/heinz-house-is-brought-by-boat-to-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":4},"title":"Heinz house is brought by boat to Pittsburgh","date":"February 15, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"What\u2019s the quintessential image of Pittsburgh\u2019s past?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/tumblr_mi8cyyDDWy1rr5swxo6_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C839&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":66,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/11\/17\/pie-in-the-face-and-pittsburghs-crusty-hit\/","url_meta":{"origin":132,"position":5},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s crusty \u2018hit man\u2019","date":"November 17, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"When was the last time you heard of a pie-throwing battle in Pittsburgh?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/tumblr_nf5tu4o3TG1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C845&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3780,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/3780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}