Breaking your nightly fast comes as a warm syrupy hug, a creamy granola kiss, or just holding hands with a hot cup of coffee—all hinting at the untapped potential of a day yet lived. Melting into the embrace of breakfast might be a luxury, but everyone deserves that moment where euphoria takes over just long enough to forget about unsweetened traffic jams and morning meetings. Who wouldn’t want that escape any time of day?
That was the original concept for Short Stack Eatery: 24-hour breakfast Thursday through Sunday. Co-owner Alex Lindenmeyer says of herself and business partner Sinead McHugh, “We hated the concept that breakfast food had to end at some point. We grew up with drive-thru McDonald’s, where the menu changed over at 10:31 every day; we just wanted a place where that didn’t happen.
“We were open 88 hours straight from Thursday morning to Sunday night. We didn’t close. We visited enough towns that had concepts like ours: individually owned, locally owned breakfast diner spots. We thought it’d be a good fit in Madison.”
But a lot needed to happen before Short Stack would open its doors. First off, Alex and Sinead had to learn about the restaurant business. They decided the best way to do that was on the job in various positions in the industry, so they worked as managers in restaurants, helped other people open restaurants, and just did what was needed to gain as much relevant experience as possible.
They also learned as much as they could from Wisconsin’s purveyors and farmers to build out their menu. Seeing what was available, the decision to use local, high-quality ingredients meant they could keep the offerings simple. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, how much more complicated does it really need to get? “I want regulars in here every morning,” says Alex. It’s consistency over curveballs.
The final piece was the location in Madison that would be perfect for their restaurant. Alex and Sinead were in no hurry to do things in a way they didn’t believe in, and they had their eyes on the 300 block of West Johnson Street. “We waited on this location for 18 months. We were very, very, very specific about where we wanted to be. Anywhere past this block, you’re automatically assumed to be a college-only operation, and on the Square, you’re a non-college operation. We were very intentional about the demographics that live in this square mile of the isthmus. We wanted to be in the heart of it. This is the busiest six-way pedestrian intersection in the city—the most visible corner in the city for walkers, bikers, and drivers.”
It took four years to get from deciding on an all-day-breakfast concept to opening their doors, and since Sinead and Alex have been friends going back to their days at Edgewood High School, they manage to stay on the same page even to this day, 20 years later. Other past friendships continue to be part of their professional lives as well.
“Our biggest farmer that has been farming for us specifically since we opened is Winterfell Acres, in Brooklyn, Wisconsin. Bethanee Wright started her farming journey just about the time we started Short Stack. We were friends before. It was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if you had an organic farm and I had a restaurant?’ Then it came to be. She’s our longest-standing partner.”
The menu that comes from these partnerships, though simple, appreciates the nostalgia of breakfast and its meanings for different people. For starters, the menu is split into sweet and savory—items like French toast and pancakes in the former and corned beef hash and eggs benedict in the latter. Then there’s trying to make things as fresh as possible, which is why the dry ingredients for the batter aren’t mixed until an order is placed. Each effort is made with intention to give new and returning customers the experiences they anticipate.
Complementing breakfast are roasts from Wonderstate Coffee, Viroqua, and Boom Coffee, Princeton, as well as a range of cocktails. Of note is Short Stack’s Bloody Mary, which isn’t the traditional take on the drink, but rather an assemblage speaking strongly to the restaurant’s mission. “It’s a 25-ingredient Bloody Mary, and we house roast and blend all our own vegetables every week to make the mix. It’s basically a vegetable smoothie. We make our own house pickle brine and brine up all kinds of things, like jalapenos, habaneros, serranoes, and dill. … It’s a testament to what it can look like when we use local farmers to make something. It’s very specific to this place. Every time someone walks up to the counter and orders a Bloody Mary, the first question they’ll be asked is, ‘Have you tried it before?’ If you haven’t, it’s not what you’re thinking you’re going to get.”
Whatever you decide on, you’ll be enjoying it in an environment filled with nods to customer appreciation and the first years Short Stack was open, like old notes and postcards from customers framed under glass tabletops and the chairs purchased at St. Vinny’s to affordably fill the space. You’ll also notice progress pride flags, highlighting what Alex calls an evolutionary journey.
“I’m a racist in recovery. I grew up in a really white town in a really white everything: white teachers, white institutions. I’ll be on a journey the rest of my life trying to figure that out. I have to show up every day and unlearn all the bull.”
Both Sinead and Alex took Justified Anger’s Black History for a New Day course and even require managers to take the course. It’s been eight years since they took the course, but it speaks to an ongoing initiative to do better. “The end goal as two white cisgender folx who own a company is to do less harm.”
In recognition of what it means to move forward, Short Stack works with what they call their Root Partners, Black-led organizations aimed at addressing social injustices. This year’s partners are Progress Center for Black Women, The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Urban Triage, and Nehemiah.
Today, the restaurant’s hours are morning to mid-afternoon, but the impact is perhaps larger than it’s ever been. With mindfulness to ingredients, recipes, and social issues, the culture for growth is well in place at Short Stack, making even the most expected comfort dish that much better.
Kyle Jacobson is a writer who thinks a pancake that’s too big is just a load of crêpe.
Photographs by Eric Tadsen.
Short Stack Eatery
301 W. Johnson Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 709-5569
shortstackeats.com