Chris Cakes in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Meet John Young, Owner
In 2005, John was catering a lunch for a local bicycle ride when a friend told him he should come early for breakfast and “check this guy (Steve) out.” He was told Chris Cakes was coming all the way from Kansas City and that he ought to talk to Steve about a franchise. John still remembers being handed a plate, walking around the corner into a big room, and having Amanda toss a pancake from high in the air that landed right on it.
He can remember that moment like it was yesterday!
As he looked at the griddles, buckets, drills, and the whole setup, he immediately thought this looked like a whole lot more fun than what he had been doing for a career. He talked with Steve afterward, and the rest is history. He still does that same feed today, and he and his friend still talk about that first Chris Cakes encounter every year.
A Successful Chris Cakes Location
After training with other Chris Cakes owners and in Kansas City, John quickly knew ownership was a no-brainer. The low initial investment made sense, and he could see right away that it was a business that could be both enjoyable and worthwhile. Just as important, he felt an instant connection with Steve and his family and knew this was something he wanted to be a part of. Chris Cakes Jeffersonville opened with a free pancake breakfast for family and friends on January 1, 2007. In 2009, John sold his gas station and went on to set a Guinness World Record for the Highest Tossed Pancake. The record was held at Bass Pro Shops and benefited a young man who had been paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. The event caught local news coverage and even CNN’s attention. In those early years, John was featured by multiple news affiliates, appeared on morning programs, got support from Terry Meiners, Louisville’s leading local radio personality, who would show up to feeds he did to support Kosair Children’s Hospital, and built momentum through word of mouth. What stood out to him then—and still does now—was that Chris Cakes was never just about the food. It was about bringing people joy, helping groups raise money, and creating an experience people genuinely remembered.
Before Chris Cakes, John had owned a gas station for 21 years, so self-employment was already familiar territory. What Chris Cakes offered was a different kind of opportunity: a business with lower overhead and a system that allowed him to serve people quickly while still making the work enjoyable. It gave him more flexibility and the chance to build a business that was both profitable and memorable. On his own, he could serve around 250 people per hour with about an hour of setup and roughly 20 minutes of cleanup. It also gave him opportunities to travel and enjoy flipping pancakes in places where Chris Cakes was not yet established, including events across Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and beyond.
Over the years, John has served at weddings, public events, tons of colleges, and about every high school, middle school, and elementary school around. He has also done factory and corporate jobs for UPS, Great Dane Trailers, GXO, Dollar General, Spectrum, GE, the Indiana State Fair, the MS Society, and Cardinal Stadium. His work has also taken him to places like the top floors of skyscrapers, The Mascot Hall of Fame, Indiana Dunes National Park, the Kentucky Science Museum, the Frazier Arms Museum, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and distilleries including Jack Daniel’s, Heaven Hill, and Four Roses. For John, that kind of range is part of what makes Chris Cakes stand out. It’s flexible enough for almost any setting and everyone gets a great experience.
Besides providing the experience, the business model stands out in several ways. Through the years, Steve had gotten everything down to a science, and John was more than happy to learn everything he could from him and the other location owners. Preparing everything on site and choosing the right cooking techniques ensures high-quality food every time—without the long wait. Through the years, John has seen plenty of food trucks enter the market, but in most ways he has never viewed them as direct competition. In his experience, Chris Cakes offers something different: fresh food prepared on site, served fast, with an experience built into it.
When asked about memorable experiences with Steve, John says his fondest memories are basically any time he got the chance to be around him. He remembers a trip to Georgia that included a stop at the lost luggage museum, dinner with Stewart Claxton of Guinness World Records, and getting to see the dugout and behind the scenes of the Kansas City Royals. In John’s words, saying Steve is a fun guy only scratches the surface. What stayed with him most was Steve’s humor and the way he always seemed to think outside the box. That spirit made Chris Cakes feel like more than a business. It felt like something special to be part of.
When asked who the most famous person was that he ever flipped pancakes to, John points to John Schnatter of Papa John’s. But if he could flip pancakes again for anyone, he says it would be two people: his dad, who passed away before getting the chance to see him flipping pancakes or catch one himself, and his Uncle Joe. Joe came to one of John’s events and caught a pancake John flipped from about 20 feet away, and the smile on Uncle Joe’s face is a memory John still treasures. That memory, more than anything, captures what John believes Chris Cakes has always been about: fun, connection, and moments people never forget.