Short Stack, with Big Impact

Pancake Crew Puts the ‘Fun’ in Fundraiser at Stack’em High

by Steve Hanf

A ticket to one of the Thursday night suppers at Stack ‘em High in Kitty Hawk gets you a short stack of pancakes, your choice of bacon or sausage, hash browns or grits, plus a drink.

What’s not included for each diner? The full rack of ribbing taking place at the griddle. The heaping helping of friendly banter as to-go orders are assembled. The perfect blend of faith, camaraderie and community service on display, from the prayer that opens the event to the last chicken wing consumed at a local haunt long after the restaurant lights go out.

There are countless businesses on the beach that throw endless support behind local organizations. Donations for raffles. Fundraiser dinners. Just stroking a check — and oftentimes asking for anonymity while doing so. But the pancake suppers each fall, winter and spring at the Kitty Hawk Stack ‘em High are a unique experience for everyone involved.

Owner Steve Kiousis brings in a crew from his Sunday School class at Duck Church and the restaurant’s Wednesday morning Bible study to man the stations. The eclectic group of mostly retired businessmen, veterans and your everyday friendly grandpa types prep the food, fill the syrups, take orders at the register, provide instructions to the volunteer groups hosting the fundraiser … and offer an unending soundtrack of jokes and jabs from start to finish.

It all began in the early ’90s when a local church was exploring the idea of starting a school and held a pancake supper to provide some seed money. Then came Scott Steward’s request for his son’s Odyssey of the Mind team making its way to the world championships in the Midwest. Some 30 years later, Steward is still part of the team as one group after another walks through the doors on Thursday nights.

National Honor Society students from First Flight High School get a special treat from the kitchen while helping at a 2024 fundraiser. Money raised by NHS students the last three years has gone back to area elementary schools for the group’s annual service project. Photo by: Steve Hanf

Could any of them have imagined they’d still be cooking pancakes for a cause in 2025?

“Yes,” Scott says simply, “because of the need for funds for the different groups. And Steve always wants to help out with his generosity.”

In the early days, efforts were more scattered. Because Scott’s school group had hosted several fundraisers, folks often asked him how they could do one. Dinners happened on different nights, groups sold wide-ranging numbers of tickets, it was all word-of-mouth.

“We were winging it,” Steve says. “As we started fine-tuning, it was like, ‘OK, Thursday night on the Outer Banks during the winter time is the one night of the week where everybody kind of takes a respite from sports. There’s no basketball games. There’s no softball games. There’s no soccer matches.’ So, everybody would come. It’s a good time for locals to enjoy coming to Stack ’em High after the tourists leave.”

The weekly Thursday fundraisers are a blast for the groups raising money as well as for the church friends cooking in the kitchen.
Photo provided by the Kiousis family.

Local dance companies host dinners to help pay for competition costs. First Flight High School groups are regulars, from students in the fine arts working to help with instrument repairs to journalism students raising money to attend conventions to AVID students helping fund their annual college tours.

Sports teams raise money for equipment. Churches help out those in need in the congregation. The Kill Devil Derby Brigade — our local roller derby queens — are a favorite fundraiser night, as they zip around the restaurant on their roller skates delivering food and selling merch.

“Most of the time, it’s school-oriented,” Steve says. “But the Derby Girls, that’s the wildest fundraiser we do. They’re having a blast.”

Planning for the Thursday night events begins as early as August. Steve’s wife, Kristine, will put out a list on social media announcing the fundraiser dates, and spots typically get gobbled up. From Sept. 11 to Dec. 11, there were 11 dates this fall — weeks around busy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays are always skipped — and the process will repeat from January to April or so.

The group doing the fundraiser prints and sells tickets good for one meal, usually for $10, and gives Steve and Kristine an estimate of sales so the restaurant can prepare. Every so often, a dinner has to be canceled because of low numbers. Usually, though, small crowds are not a problem. 

Nags Head Church did a last-minute fundraiser for a congregant needing medical care and ended up with 400 people streaming into the restaurant from 5:30 to 7:30 that Thursday night. Steve recalls the American Heritage Girls setting the all-time record one night with 475 tickets — “we were just crushed!”

Inevitably, some folks buy tickets and choose not to redeem them, which ends up being all profit to the organization. Currently, half of a $10 ticket goes to the restaurant’s expenses, while the other half goes to the group.

Steve’s crew starts arriving around 5 and the volunteers stream in shortly thereafter. Jokes start flying almost immediately as the cooking crew tries to set the volunteers at ease as they start working. Positions are assigned for door greeters, drink fillers, food runners and bussers.

“We get the kids involved,” Steve says.

Before the first guest enters and the first pancakes hit the griddle, everyone circles up for a prayer.

Above: A full house of folks dining in or waiting for takeout orders makes for a successful night. Be on the lookout for your favorite group hosting a Thursday night dinner in the coming months or check out the Kitty Hawk Stack ’em High’s Facebook page about popping in one evening. Photo by: Steve Hanf; Below: OBX Storm Soccer Club Ladybugs, proudly posing after a successful 2024 Stack’em High pancake dinner fundraiser. They easily reached their goal of raising enough for a new AI camera and accessories to record and play back games and practices for training purposes . Photo provided by the Kiousis family.

“When they first come in and we’re holding hands and having an open prayer together, you realize we’re all working together,” says Charles Gill, a former pastor who’s been working the dinners for several years.

“The prayer sets the tone,” adds Scott. “It’s what we’re here for. We’re here to serve people, and they’re trying to make money, and we’re trying to help them make money.”

Most nights, the crowds ebb and flow, providing some down time for everyone to chat. The church friends tend to lob their best barbs at Steve: “A lot of the time, the banter is just picking on Steve,” Scott explains. “He tries to inject his guidance on us, to pretend like he’s in charge, but he’s not.”

The collegial nature of the group is on full display at their Wednesday morning Bible study at the restaurant, as well. Jokes about reading glasses. Knee replacements. Food, and more food.

“Steve tells me Greeks invented food and I tell him Italians perfected it,” says Francis D’Ambra, who started helping at the dinners about three years ago after joining the morning Bible study.

His joke draws plenty of laughs, but the dinners are also a serious affair.

“It’s great to come together as men who all believe and trust in Christ and be able to have that fellowship that we have in the morning Bible study, and extend that out into the evening time,” Francis says. “Doing that with the groups and whatever impact we can have on them here, that’s all the better.”

Stories about over-cooked potatoes aside, the men have become such a well-oiled machine at the dinners that Steve often busies himself cooking other treats for them to sample. At 7:30, the volunteer groups fan out in the dining room to make sure it’s clean for Friday’s breakfast, and Steve and a few helpers get to work counting tickets.

The volunteers head home, excited about the possibilities before them thanks to all those plates of pancakes. The church buddies, however, are just getting started.

“Afterwards, we go eat chicken wings,” Steve explains of the treat he provides for his team.

“And drink beer,” adds a helpful voice at the table, drawing more laughs.

“That’s been a bit of contention over the years, too, with the chicken wings,” Steve continues. “Some of these guys are eating chicken wings like it’s the last time they’ll ever eat, like I’m made of money or something.”

As the jokes continue, another person on the team offers a helpful aside: “We’re not a quiet group, for sure.”

They certainly aren’t. These men share their compassion for each other and their community, loud and proud.

Author: Steve Hanf

Steve Hanf is a former professional sportswriter who has taught the journalism classes at First Flight High School since 2015.