And she means it. The mix of customers at the Summit is, according to Larry, a roughly 50-50 split between Turnpike drivers and locals. And many of the locals have been returning for years. During the 60s when the kids got really rowdy on the weekends, we decided to close after the second shift. But after a couple of years, things settled down and we went back to being open 24 hours.
Breakfast is the busiest meal at the Summit and it's the best time to sample the special hot cakes.
One of the original owners, Walter Estep, frustrated with doughy pancakes made from giant vats of stale batter, came up with the idea of blending special flours together in individual servings, but not mixing up the batter until someone ordered. It was great idea then and that's the way they still do it today. As a massive plow roars by outside, Larry recalls another blizzard. In 1974 a huge snowstorm shut down everything in Somerset except the diner. The streets were littered with abandoned cars and hundreds of stranded drivers came into the diner.