Stuffed Pig owner hams it up for 25th anniversary with pig races and more
E-Mail this story
Print this story
Karen Dennis started the Stuffed Pig in a mobile lunch truck. A price war with two other restaurants led her to rely on a strong breakfast menu, and big breakfasts remain the mainstays of the menu
Here's a little known fact: Sunday is National Pig Day -- a day set aside to celebrate all things hog-related.
One local celebration sure to be full of enthusiasm takes place at the Stuffed Pig, a landmark Marathon restaurant about to kick off its 25th year in business.
Karen Dennis and Mike Cinque, co-owners of the eatery at 35th Street and U.S. 1, are hosting a combination fundraising event/anniversary bash/swine tribute on Sunday. Live music, all-you-can-eat pork dinners and pig races -- yes, pig races -- round out the festivities, with all proceeds going to the Grace Jones Community Center in Marathon.
Dennis recalled her restaurant's humble origins in April 1984.
"This place used to be a Mexican restaurant called Hole in the Wall, and it looked like one, let me tell you," Dennis said. "When Mike said we'd have it ready to open in 30 days, I laughed at him, but 30 days later we were open."
Dennis said she and Cinque couldn't afford to buy tables and chairs, so they initially furnished the dining room with picnic tables loaned by friends.
The Stuffed Pig was strictly a lunch joint at first -- an offshoot of the mobile lunch truck Dennis operated for years before traffic became so congested she had trouble making her route on time. The Overseas Highway through Marathon was only two lanes wide back then.
After six months in business, Dennis began offering a smattering of breakfast items at the request of her customers. She recalled how an early price war waged by two other restaurants influenced her menu -- and countless diners' waistlines.
"Those places started selling 99-cent breakfasts, and everybody was asking me what I was going to do about it. Well, I refused to put a 99-cent breakfast on the menu," Dennis said. "Instead I created the Pig's Breakfast, with two pancakes, two eggs, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of sausage, home fries and toast for $3.95. Now it's $8 and it's our most popular breakfast item."
And those other two restaurants aren't in business anymore.
Dennis gradually expanded her breakfast menu, and the Stuffed Pig became a popular early-morning gathering spot for locals. Breakfast eventually became the restaurant's mainstay, and the employee roster grew from three people to 11. And on any given morning, especially during season, you can see lines of people waiting outside to get a table.
One of the best things about co-owning the Stuffed Pig, Dennis said, is getting to meet people from all walks of life. When Jamie Lee Curtis was in town in the early 1990s filming the movie "True Lies," she ate at the Stuffed Pig. But it's the everyday folks Dennis loves to talk about the most.
"What gets to me is when a tourist comes in from halfway around the world and tells me they were sent here by someone else," Dennis said. "When that happens, you know you're doing something right."
The Stuffed Pig's National Pig Day celebration and fundraiser for the Grace Jones Community Center starts at noon Sunday at the restaurant. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for kids 12 and under. The ticket price covers all-you-can-eat food and live entertainment from Dave Scott, Michael J and Mona, George Logan, Rocketman and Joe Mama.
There's also the chance to see Rosaire's Royal Racers racing pigs in action. Post times are 10 a.m., noon, and 2, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. March 1. The pigs also race at the same times Feb. 28.
