Santa Cruz is known for many things. Of course there’s NHS and Santa Cruz Skateboards, but we were once home to Netflix and Odwalla, and now Trick-Or-Treat Studios. But after Oct. 26 Santa Cruz might be known for another thing.
Pancakes.
Or, more specifically, the home of the Guinness Book of Records holder for the most pancakes stacked at a single serving. That is, if local artist and musician Andy Fairley—aka Andy Pankakes—is up for the task.
“I think we got it,” he says confidently. “When I tell people the current record is three foot and four inches, they all say what I did at first, ‘Aw that’s nothing.’ But when you look at the video of the current record holders and see the stack, it’s not as easy as it sounds. But I’ve got a good team.”
Taking place at the 11th Hour Coffee Roastery, Pankake Fest is an afternoon event featuring live art by Elliot Bliss and—since it’s Halloween weekend—a costume contest. It can’t be a festival without music, so Andy Pankakes, Flat Sun Society, Sin Nombre, Perch and Rio & The Soup will all be playing with DJs Willie and Drizz spinning the ones and twos.
Pankake Fest will also celebrate 11th Hour’s sixth anniversary and feature a mural unveiling at the roaster.
The entrance fee is $20, but that includes art, five bands, two DJs and a pancake feast—as the flapjacks must be served, per Guinness World Record rules.
“That’s a hell of a deal,” Fairley says, laughing.
But before the haters gonna hate, let’s get one thing straight: pancake stacking ain’t all fun and games.
The current record was set in 2016 and is held by chefs James Haywood and Dave Nicholls of Center Parcs Sherwood Forest—a resort in the United Kingdom. It took them 45 minutes to make and stack the 213-pancake tower, which used 13 bags of flour, 360 eggs and 26 pints (about 3.5 gallons) of milk. Each pancake must be a certain diameter and thickness to qualify and the stack must stand for at least 5 seconds.
The previous record was set in 2014 but stood only two feet and 11 inches tall.
Along with Fairley, local chef Jessica Yarr (owner of The Grove in Felton) will be cooking, flipping and stacking.
The idea came when Fairley and Pankake Fest co-organizer Wendy Frances were griddling ideas on how to butter up the name Andy Pankakes to be served to a wider audience.
“We were talking about crazy stunts we could pull and I said, ‘Why not go for the Guinness World Record for pancake stacking?’” remembers Frances, whose favorite pancakes are chocolate chip. “And he looked at me and, ‘You’re crazy, I’m in!’”
Like any good competitive sport, pancake stacking takes time. So Fairley and his team have been training by hitting the pavement learning all they can about the world of pancake stacking.
“I’ve been talking with people—like a physicist who graduated from UC Santa Cruz, and the chef at Surf City,” Fairley says. “I also have a book on food science I’ve consulted. I’ve also done some planning and some testing of different recipes.”
“I think they’ll be able to pull it off,” 11th Hour co-owner Brayden Estby says. “I have great confidence they’ll be able to get it dialed and do it. There’s too much on the line.”
Estby—whose favorite pancakes are chocolate chips, topped with bananas and syrup—first met Fairley at the downtown 11th Hour shop and booked him for a show. They quickly bonded through art collective Liminal Space‚ which also has a mural at the Westside location, and have worked on various events since.
“[11th Hour] celebrates its anniversary every year on Halloween weekend,” he says. “Andy said he was putting on this thing and we thought, ‘Why not make it a combo?’”
In 2022 Fairley held the first Pankake Fest on the back patio at the downtown 11th Hour location. While that show didn’t have the stacking competition, it definitely still had pancakes.
“I actually flipped pancakes out into the crowd while I was performing,” he laughs. “It just adds another level of fun and excitement to the show along with the music.”
For now, Fairley just released a new song, “Internet Girlfriend,” and is prepping for the competition with a strict regimen fans can see on his Instagram with a video of him bench pressing and lifting weights with pancakes for dumbbells.
As for Fairley’s favorite type of pancake? Buttermilk with wild raspberries, butter and maple syrup.
“It’s fun,” he says. “People hear the name ‘Andy Pankakes’ and they smile. I know I have a good association with pancakes, sitting around the table with my family. It’s uplifting. It’s breakfast.”
Pankake Fest takes place Sat., Oct. 26 at 11th Hour Coffee Roastery, 2100D Delaware Ave., Santa Cruz. Tickets: $20.
