JP’s Pancake House

My dad used to love Stop 35, previous name for JP’s, and so I grew up going to this place. Unfortunately, the quality of the food has declined over the years. The breakfasts are still good, especially the pancakes, along with all kinds of eggs, home fries, etc. You used to be able to get breakfast all day along. A couple of years ago, the owners, changed that policy and now cut-​off for breakfast is 11AM. The owners and management, in my opinion, have lost a sense of their clientele. All-​day breakfast is paramount at a joint like this for truckers, locals, and tourists passing through. The waitresses and local folks hanging out at the counters make up for the lackluster eats.

Service was awful, waited over 30 minutes for a Chef’s salad and quesadilla. When food came out, order was wrong and had to send back. Food was like truck stop food, waitress said she would give us 15% off bill, was less than 10%. Never stop there again

The only reason this place is getting 2 stars is because of the service. Mac & cheese, chicken breast sandwich, baked beans were all processed. We saw the busy parking lot & got our hopes up, only to be very disappointed. Our lunch cost $ 23 but we could have eaten from The Dollar Menu for much cheaper with the same quality of food.

Most of us have seen the movie Footloose. A bunch of locals sit in a restaurant and the second an out-​of-​towner walks in the entire restaurant turns and looks. Then you can see locals whispering to each other and looking at you, wondering where you’re from. This was the scene we walked into at JP’s — on our way to trout fishing East Licking Creek. It reminded me of an old truck stock that you don’t see in most places in America anymore. Or if you’ve seen the movie, We Are Marshall, the diner people went to for pie in town. That’s the scene you can expect here for breakfast and lunch. You’ll likely see a bunch of friendly retired folks hanging out milking a cup of coffee for an hour before ordering. It’s a great experience!
While the service is good and waitresses are friendly, the food unfortunately needs help. If you’re a local you’ll probably give this place a great rating, but if you’ve spent time at even a Cracker Barrel, you’ll be disappointed. This is on par with Shoney’s, Denny’s, Bob Evans and the Waffle House. If you enjoy those places, you’ll love this place. If it’s quality you’re after, be prepared, you’re not going to find it.
Fortunately, for breakfast, you’ll be able to get by with a fair meal without spending too much money. Our waffle was sour and not edible. The waitress told us people had been complaining for a few days, yet the continued to serve it. She said they were trying a new batter, which obviously wasn’t working. Doesn’t anyone try new items before they are served to the masses? Low grade food is the rule here and if you’re ok with that — you’ll give this place a 5-​stars.

Slow service. Very bad mashed potatoes. Passable potato soup. Very bad chicken and waffles that don’t live up to the name. The chicken is shredded chicken, not very good, on what’s little more than an eggo waffle. And then they put really tasteless chicken grave on top.
If everything else is that bad I can’t see why people like this diner. However the biscuits and gravy looked good.

We went for lunch, and the place was pretty busy. Service was a little slow at first, but understandable given the crowd. I had an omlette with mushrooms and spinach. It was just okay. The home fries were very good though! Someone else I was with got pancakes — they looked delicious! Our waitress was very pleasant.

Great places to eat, especially for a traveler staying at the econolodge. You get a 2.50 discount per person for an already reasonably priced meal. The food is delicious as well abd the servers very nice

Went for breakfast. Great food and a lot of it! Waitress didn’t have any recommendations for food when asked. Drinks took some time to be refilled. Otherwise, delicious food and good atmosphere!

Excellent, excellent, excellent!!! The food, the service and the atmosphere were all top notch tonight. We haven’t been here in years and the name has changed again but the food has not gone south at all… It’s so good. Olivia, a morning waitress was taking an evening shift and really did an excellent job. I hope to eat here again and again !!!

this place is the midway point between home and family’s cabin. growing up i used to think this place was the bee’s knee’s — formerly called stop 35. at my first time back here in about 10 years i was disappointed that the rosy childhood allure of this place has largely faded. now if that is due to actual changes over that time or the better perspective of adulthood i don’t know. not that you needed to know any of that… now down to business.
i ordered a turkey club and french fries. DH had cheeseburger and fries. service on a sunday at noon time was quick even though the place was packed and food was pretty good. prices are reasonable. with two sodas our bill came to $ 19. they still have specials that you would expect at a diner. but noticed more than i ever have before that place is just run down and tired looking, except for their nice lobby. has an off smell to it. bathrooms are in need of a major overhaul. calling robert irvine… you’ve got a project here!
still a decent place to eat, and if you’re in central pa going to state college this is a solid option if you are not interested in eating at fast food.