Saratoga of the South

LITTLE ROCK — It’s shortly before 9 a.m. on a Saturday and the crowd is out the door at The Pancake Shop on Hot Springs’ Central Avenue.

Behind the cash register, Steve De-Salvo gently reminds customers that the restaurant, which has been in business since 1940, doesn’t accept credit cards.

“There’s an ATM right across the street,” he says.

A woman takes names and invites those waiting to grab a free cup of coffee while browsing next door at The Savory Pantry, a shop offering everything from imported olive oil to fine chocolates. My visitor from Washington, D.C., and I sit at stools along the counter. I have buckwheat blueberry pancakes and some of the best sausage you can get anywhere. DeSalvo walks over and the subject of conversation turns to thoroughbred racing.

There have been few changes to the menu here the past 70 years. The orange juice is still squeezed fresh each morning. They’re quick to refill your coffee cup. And at how many places can one still find stewed prunes on the menu?

Breakfast is the only thing served, and they still open at 6 a.m. and close at 12:45 p.m. On the wall, there are photos of celebrities from the racing and entertainment worlds who’ve eaten here through the years.

The original restaurant, Mason’s Pancake Shop, was opened by Albah Mason at 133 Central Ave. Hot Springs was a preferred destination for Chicago residents in those days. In the 1950s the restaurant was purchased by Chuck and Olive Conway of Chicago. They moved the business across the street to its current location at 216 Central Ave. and changed the name to simply The Pancake Shop.

Tom and Ruth Ardman purchased the business in May 1966 when gambling downtown was in its waning days. Tom died in 1980 and Ruth stepped in to run the business with a steady hand until her death in 2004. Daughter Keeley Ardman DeSalvo joined the business in 1995. Three years later, she began shipping the restaurant’s ham and sausage following countless customer requests. That led to the opening of The Savory Pantry. Husband Steve, a noted financial adviser, helps out on weekends.

With August approaching, my conversation with Steve DeSalvo turns to the famed late-summer thoroughbred meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Opening day there was July 23, and the meet runs through Labor Day. For decades, wealthy residents of New York City have headed north in August to Saratoga Springs.

Hot Springs often has been called the Saratoga of the South, and the comparison is fitting. Both resort cities are the home of tradition-laden racetracks that continue to draw sizable crowds in an era when racing is otherwise in decline. Both towns have famous old hotels downtown-the Arlington in Hot Springs and the Adelphi in Saratoga Springs. Both towns grew up around mineral springs and began to thrive in the Victorian era when “taking the baths” was all the rage. Both continue to offer spa services.

We finish our meals and begin walking down Central Avenue. There’s also a wait for breakfast at the Arlington despite thesize of the hotel’s large dining room. Outside, the sidewalks are packed.

Though Hot Springs is far from the largest city in the state, I’ve always thought of Bathhouse Row as the place that offers the most urban walking experience in Arkansas. There’s a bigcity feel as people come in and out of the shops and restaurants.

At the Quapaw and Buckstaff, tourists still enjoy the baths. At the Ozark, now the home of the Museum of Contemporary Art, people walk in to see an exhibit featuring 50 photos by Ansel Adams. At the Fordyce, redone bythe National Park Service as a visitors’ center, it’s so packed that it’s hard to get up the stairs.

Truly, the Gulf Coast’s pain in this summer of the oil spill is Arkansas’ gain. I’ve rarely seen it busier in downtown Hot Springs. The trick is getting first-time visitors to come back.

As I finished my last bites of buckwheat blueberry pancakes, DeSalvo and I discussed how the future of the city rests on furthering its image as the Saratoga of the South. It’s nice to see four of the eight bathhouses in use. Now uses need to be found for the Lamar (closed since November 1985), the Maurice (closed since November 1974), the Hale (closed since October 1978) and the Superior (closed since November 1983).

The saddest scar in all of Hot Springs is the padlocked Majestic Hotel, its awnings ripped by the wind and its paint peeling. Plans to transform the landmark hotel into apartments ground to a halt with the onset of the recession. The careful renovation of that facility might be the linchpin for further development downtown. Bringing more full-time residentsdowntown and improving the condition of the hotels are the keys to achieving Saratoga status.

While they’re at it, savvy investors should look at reviving some classic Hot Springs restaurants that have closed in recent years and placing them on the ground floor of the Majestic. What if wecould once again enjoy steaks from Coy’s, fried chicken and quail from Mrs. Miller’s, and matzo ball soup and chicken in a pot from Mollie’s?

Yes, Hot Springs is doing OK in the summer of 2010. With detailed planning and proper investment, the potential is there for even greater things in the Saratoga of the South.

Free-lance columnist Rex Nelson is the senior vice president for government relations and public outreach at The Communications Group in Little Rock.