Suburban Heroes: Regulars boost Carol Stream pancake house owner, who then feeds workers, families, elderly

She calls them her VIP customers.

They're the regulars at Mapleberry Pancake House in Carol Stream. The folks who started their Sunday mornings with flapjacks or stuffed French toast, coffee and a glance at that “enter as strangers, leave as friends” sign.

“Without them, there would be no Mapleberry,” owner Sylvia Masters says.

The people she treats like family are now stepping up the way family does in a crisis. They've helped her stay in business during the dining shutdown. Masters says she would be lost without them.

“I'm not going to lie, I'm trying to stay as strong as I can,” she says.

Customers who have made Mapleberry a fixture for 15 years have reminded Masters to keep the faith. She counts among them the firefighters who “ordered all this food” for pickup on March 22.

“The fire department was so amazing,” she said. “They came to me. They wanted to help me out.”

So Masters decided she would do the same. She's donated meals to families of sick children at the Ronald McDonald House in Winfield. And she's been bringing food to her parents' neighbors.

“I've got fresh-made soup, just whatever I can do.”

But nothing topped the delivery she made last week.

“This is going to be my biggest challenge, and I'm so up for it,” Masters said March 30.

The next morning, she was at Mapleberry at 4:30 a.m. to help prepare a special breakfast. And by 7:15, she was at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital delivering 300 individually wrapped meals for medical workers fighting coronavirus.

“I felt I needed to give back in my own way,” she said.

Her way means hundreds of CDH employees became her VIP customers. Each received two pancakes, fresh scrambled eggs and sausage. On the second of two runs to the Winfield hospital, Masters even had gluten-free pancakes for those with dietary restrictions.

“I was so happy,” she said.

So were the hospital workers who took time out of their overwhelming day to call the restaurant or say thank you on Facebook.

“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community we serve,” said Suzanne McCoy, the hospital's chief nursing executive.

Masters is quick to thank her vendors, Gordon Food Service and Tec Foods Inc., for jumping on the bandwagon.

She also credits Mapleberry manager Kathy Mazza, her backbone through the uncertainty. The restaurant has scaled back hours and gone down to one cook during the week to fulfill to-go orders.

Its friendly atmosphere has shifted to Facebook, where Mapleberry responds to her customers with “luv you to the moon & back.”

“It's about the community,” Masters said, “and I want them to know that I'm here.”

• Do you know any Suburban Heroes? Share your story at heroes@dailyherald.com.