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Ina Pinkney, Chicago's 'Breakfast Queen,' Announces Retirement

By Anthony Todd in Food on Aug 29, 2013 2:00PM

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Photo via Facebook.
Today in things that will make the entire city cry: Ina Pinkney, owner of Ina's, announced that she will be retiring and closing her restaurant at the end of 2013.

Pinkney announced her retirement via email last night. "Life is like baking a cake. It's raw for a long time. It's perfectly baked for a short time, and it's overbaked forever. I feel like we're closing at the right time, before we're 'overbaked.'"

We were lucky enough to get to know Ina when she was a contestant for the host position on Check, Please—before then we didn't know all that much about her remarkable career, aside from the fact that she made some of the best pancakes in the entire world. She operated three restaurants, is a polio survivor, ran for Congress and for Mayor of Chicago and is beloved by thousands and thousands of her customers and friends.

In an long interview with the Tribune's Phil Vettel, she opened up about why she wanted to retire. Her mobility is limited, and she's unable to cook in her own restaurant kitchen anymore.

"My world has to be flat, and my world has to be very small," Pinkney says. "I can no longer walk a block. I can no longer climb steps. I can't go to the movies, because no way can I walk that distance, sit for two hours, and walk back to the car."

Pinkney's not done yet, though. Her cookbook is coming out very soon, and we have a strong feeling that we'll still see plenty of her around the restaurant scene, even if we can't stuff her famous heavenly hots into our mouths without making them ourselves. In any case, if you've never been to Ina's or if you're a long time fan, head in now—you've still got a few months.