QC Restaurant Week: Meli’s Pancake House has felt community support for over a year | Food and dining

She and her husband, Onis Figueroa, took over in stride and with some relief.

“That’s something I was really nervous about, being my first year open,” Melissa Figueroa said. “It was hard for me to see the potential, but now that I’m seeing people coming in and business going up, I’m like, OK, this is going to work.”

Visit Quad Cities features local businesses like Meli’s Pancake House through March 27, posting specials and giving customers the chance to earn gift cards by submitting receipts or selfies with food at participating restaurants .

Opened in December 2020, this is the second year that Meli’s Pancake House has taken part in QC Restaurant Week. Located at 1320 5th Avenue, Moline, Meli’s is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., seven days a week.

The restaurant will have a special every day this week. Tuesday (March 22) is stuffed French toast, two eggs and two meats for $9.99.

Onis Figueroa’s favorite dishes to prepare as the restaurant’s head chef – Avocado Omelette and Avocado Benedict – are also among his favorite dishes. They also rank among the most popular menu items, he said, along with the skillet for meat lovers and a variety of pancakes.

Onis Figueroa and Melissa Figueroa have a long history in the Quad-Cities restaurant industry, which helped them craft their menu, which is full of treats for breakfast and lunch.

As Melissa Figueroa feared opening a dining establishment during a peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said her husband was ready to step in. It worked well, with the food and service attracting many repeat customers from all over the world. region, said Onis Figueroa.

“It feels good,” said Onis Figueroa. “We make people happy.”

Meli’s Pancake House is truly a family business, with the couple’s youngest son working in the kitchen with Onis Figueroa and their daughter working up front with Melissa Figueroa. Their eldest son also worked in the restaurant until he graduated from high school.

Their daughter is going to study commerce next year, said Melissa Figueroa, and is looking forward to one day owning her own business. Melissa hopes the creperie she opened will stay in the family when she’s ready to pass it on.

“We told them to deal with it because one day it could be [theirs]“, said Melissa Figueroa.