The Classen Grill is ready to return!

OG breakfast haunt breaks the 405 diningscape's recent streak of bad news

Happy Plate Hospitality’s latest classic brand rescue is nearly ready for the public. The restaurant group that founded S&B Burger Joint, Sunnyside Diner and Taqueria El Camino and last year took ownership of Grill on the Hill is on the cusp of returning the iconic Classen Grill to glory.

I stopped by the corner of Classen Circle. and Military Avenue on Tuesday for a preview service joined by The Tamale King, Felix Cornejo. We spoke with owners Shannon and Camille Roper and partner Aly Cunningham, who expressed excitement and relief to get the project moving forward.

“The renovations took a lot longer than anticipated,” Cunningham said.

As if delays weren’t enough, fate met Happy Plate Concepts with a fire at their original Sunnyside Diner location last month. The fire occurred the first weekend of November, and Roper said they hope to be reopened early next month.

“It’s a bummer,” Shannon Roper said. “It’s got some damage, a lot of soot, you know, but it could’ve been reopened in three weeks if insurance companies didn’t process things at their own speed.”

The Classen Grill will be back in business before then, slinging its iconic breaded fried potatoes, cheese grits and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

The Classen Grill opened in the late 1970s, founded by Tupper and Linda Patnode. The married couple were members of the local theater community and opened The Classen Grill to help fund their endeavors and employ their fellow thespians and writers.

In its first iteration, The Classen Grill wasn’t a breakfast-exclusive concept. Dinner was an upscale experience, featuring steaks, chops and a full bar. When the Holloway Restaurant Group took it over in the 1990s, dinner was dropped and The Classen Grill’s line for breakfast on Sunday mornings routinely spilled out the front door.

The new menu reflects the Holloway period with the inclusion of the Coyote Chicken Sandwich brought over from Café 501. Back from the original concept is a full bar and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Roper said the original Zummo machine still works, but it’s not on the dining room floor.

“We’ve still got it,” Roper said. “It works, but it’s so loud you can hear it all the way across the dining room, and it took about eight oranges to get a little cup of juice, so we got a new model.”

Before juice came coffee. Classen Grill is doing both drip and specialty coffees. Had an exemplary Cappucino. Felix and I enjoyed mixed in some of the new menu items for lunch, including the Birria Torta and Arepa Benedict. The arepas are made in house and topped with puerco al pastor, Hollandaise and Tiger sauces plus a slaw of pickled red onion and cilantro. I chose black beans for my side but also sampled some Classen Grill Potatoes and Cheese Grits. All three were terrific, but Felix said the grits were the best he’d ever eaten.

“I don’t like grits,” he said. “But I love these. I’ll order these again.”

Couldn’t argue. The grits were thick with cheese with streaks of mild green chile running through it. Nearly a custard, these grits will fly out of the kitchen. The Classen Grill Potatoes are a little different than before, I think for the better. The originals were fried mashed potato dumpling with chives. The new dumpling have loaded mashed potatoes that aren’t overworked or oversoft.

Felix’s Birria Torta is a brawny variation on the trendy Quesabirria, a mutatation between quesadilla and the French Dip. The pork on the Arepa Benedict was rich and spicy, but the beefy the birria takes it to the next level with jus to amplify it.

We also ran into chefs Elena Farrar of Elemental Coffee and Jenny Dunham of Nashbird at Classen Grill, who both vouched for their meals.

The new Classen Grill remains at 5124 N Classen Circle, it will be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Cunningham said they will continue preview services through Thursday and quietly open the doors later this month.