San Francisco man's pancake party brought dozens of neighbors together

When his wife told him he was "getting weird" and needed to find new friends, a San Francisco man came up with a surefire way to meet people: by offering them pancakes.

Curtis Kimball operated the Crème Brûlée Cart, so he knows how to make a tasty treat. He set a date for his pancake party, Jan. 22, and started posting flyers about the event. On Twitter, he shared that during the pandemic, many of his friends left San Francisco, and he wanted to "meet some new people, make some new connections." He promised lots of different pancake options, including blueberry and chocolate chip, and encouraged people to bring their kids and dogs.

His messaging worked, and about 75 people showed up to eat pancakes, arriving "with a sense of wonder and hope and joy," Kimball told Today Food. "They didn't know what to expect, but they were expecting it to be wonderful. And because of that, it really was."

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There was an "incredible" vibe, Kimball said, and he was amazed by the "mix of generations and backgrounds, which you don't often see in San Francisco." He is already planning his next fête, and hopes that this is the beginning of a delicious movement. "My dream is that in a month or two thousands of people all across the country are hosting Saturday morning pancake parties for their friends and neighbors," Kimball told Today Food, adding that it's important for people to spend time "celebrating each other and our commonalities."