History

In 1958 the first Village Inn Pancake House opened its doors in Denver, Colorado and began offering what has since made us famous— made-from-scratch buttermilk pancakes, fresh eggs cooked any style, sizzling bacon and a pot of steaming hot coffee.

More than once, vacationers in Denver stopped at Village Inn for a bite to eat and enjoyed it so much that they inquired about franchise opportunities before leaving. Such requests inspired co-founders Merton “Andy” Anderson and Jim Mola to place an ad in The Wall Street Journal for prospective franchisees. Soon after, the first Village Inn franchise started operating in 1961, leading the way for successful franchise development that continues today.

The 1980’s were years of growth and transition for Village Inn. Early in the decade the company incorporated, changed its name to VICORP Restaurants, Inc. and became a publicly traded company. In the late ‘80s, Village Inn Pancake House changed its moniker to Village Inn Restaurants to reflect the addition of home-style lunch and dinner offerings to our traditional breakfast fare.

Today Village Inn is adding new restaurants and expanding into new regions. We are concentrated in the Rocky Mountain region, the Midwest, Arizona, Florida, and our newest region, Texas.

Our reputation for serving quality breakfasts endures and carries over to our lunch and dinner items. We are proud of our tradition—and happy to be part of our guests’ daily lives.