MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (WLS) — Welcome to Dishing with Diane, where we showcase viewer-nominated, locally-owned breakfast diners. This week, we head to Merrillville, Indiana, to visit the beloved Sophia’s Famous Pancakes.

Conveniently located just off I-65, Sophia’s is a breeze to find and even easier to adore. The friendly atmosphere is set by the warm greetings from the long-term staff and the comforting meals that emerge from the kitchen, making everyone feel like they’re part of the family.

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“When you’re here, you feel like part of their family,” shared customer Chris Parsons. “We come here, what, two or three times a week.”

We caught up with owner Bill Lalezas, who transitioned from a career as a Union Electrician to join his father in the restaurant business full-time. Now, with three locations under their belt, Lalezas is confident in the future of Sophia’s and has plans for further expansion.

“We’ve been a mainstay here for 22 years. We have employees who have been with us since the beginning, and we’ve watched customers grow up here. Our success lies in keeping things simple: we use fresh ingredients, prepare everything in-house, and provide a good meal at a fair price,” Lalezas explained.

“We’ve been a staple out here for 22 years we have employees that have been here the whole time we seen customers grow up here we keep it simple we buy fresh ingredients we prepare everything in house we give customers a good meal for a fair price,” Lalezas said.

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It’s time for me to take a bite. We start off with what I can confidently say is the best pancake I have ever had. This is the large baked apple pancake, served immediately out of the convection oven. This beauty takes 45 minutes to make.

“We start off with fresh granny smith apples sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar and then we add our homemade pancake batter and bake it in the oven for 45 minutes,” Lalezas said.

More breakfast favorites include their omelets made in a pan – not a flat top – a meat lovers combo skillet to ice cream for breakfast – a hit with the little ones.

“It’s a favorite with the kids cause its got whipped cream chocolate syrup a little bit of everything,” Lalezas said.

Needless to say, the food here is delicious and the atmosphere even better.

It’s not hard to understand why these customers keep coming back.

“The food, the workers are phenomenal they are the sweetest people ever,” Parsons said.