Easter Bunny serves pancakes for a cure

The pancakes were flying off the grill and hopping to the table yesterday at Gondola.

It was all part of the festivities as the Easter Bunny took center stage at the Queens for A Cure pancake breakfast fundraiser. Gondola owners Jimmy and Lisa Zavogiannis were kind enough to allow Queens for A Cure group members to use their restaurant free of charge.

‘If it’s for a good cause, I’m all for it,’ said Jimmy, who got a chance to sit down and enjoy a meal made by someone else for a change.

‘We’re just like everybody else. We’ve lost someone to cancer,’ added Lisa, who lost a sister to cancer in December.

Queens for A Cure has been in existence for three years. Last year, the group donated $6,800 to Relay for Life and member Kathy Brewer says the goal is $10,000 this year.

‘For a first-time event, we’ve been real busy,’ said Brewer as the pancake breakfast came to an end. ‘We’ll definitely do it again next year. We’ve raised a lot of money.’

While the Easter Bunny was certainly a focal point, Brewer says she would like to see more adults attend next year’s breakfast.

‘People seemed to think this was more child-oriented because of the bunny,’ said Brewer. ‘But we’d like more survivors to come.’

With a restaurant full of hungry customers, Suzette York was in charge of flipping pancakes on the grill. Deitra Dunlap, Tammy Young and Paula Wanamaker also put in a full morning of work to make sure the operation ran smoothly. Queens for A Cure has around 20 members.

Next up for Queens for A Cure will be a BBQ fundraiser held around Mother’s Day in conjunction with High Roller Smokers. Last year the group sold Randy Roller’s BBQ at its Relay for Life booth and Brewer said it was a hit.

The group also sponsors a Warren County beauty pageant in October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.