When we arrived there was a line out the door, our first sign that this place had the right stuff. When on line we were pleasantly surprised that it moved quickly. Just think chipotle as the wait times are comparable. I orders the Chorizo scramble and it was extremely hearty and filled you up. The chorizo was not overly spicy, the scramble contained plenty of chorizo bits and enough onions to add that pop of flavor. My wife ordered the Santa Fe, like me she was more than satisfied by the meal. Fresh ingredients and mmmm,mmmm the avocado was on point. Stacks goes on the repeat visit list for sure. read more

I got the crepe here that came with Nutella and bananas. I liked it! It didn't really fill me up though. I wish it had one more fruit in it like strawberries. Overall I enjoyed having brunch here but beware, you'll be standing in line for a while!! read more

Great food but way to long wait, they know that they are busy on a Sunday, at least I think they should, can't they make arrangements, plan ahead... Half hour wait in line, additional 45 minutes to wait for our food.... Everyone is asking the waitresses, all they answer is, we are busy it's coming, well can you please check, same answer we are busy it's coming.... Not sure what happened today, we had not been a a while, probably not coming back for a long while read more

Pancakes are bomb. Make sure to get the cookies and cream stack. The omelettes are always a little dry and the portions aren't that big -- but because the pancakes are so good this place gets a really good review. read more

Staff was friendly came an already knowing what. I Wanted to try for the first time I got the chicken and waffles with hot mayo on he side just in case it was too hot and it wasn't but man it was too bomb ! Also I got the fruity pebbles French toast it was great made just right with the perfect amount of crisp crunch and sweet soft French toast .i'm sure everything else on the menu is great too and get the guava juice sooo tasty .my mom had the omelette forgot which and but thats good too and my sister had a strawberry and banana waffle bomb!! read more

Great food and lots of outside seating! There are always lines so order on Yelp through Grubhub and the food will be waiting for you when you get there. Breakfast is amazing and there's is something for every palette, even for vegetarians and picky eaters. We always reminisce about Hawaii when we eat here lol. read more

WORST SERVICE EVER, especially for mediocre food. Lost our order waited over an hour and we're extremely insincere about their mistake.

This breakfast stop has a variety of plates. All that I have tried so far has been excellent! Loved the Khalu Pork Omelette. Was full of flavor, tender and juicy. I would order this again. The menu has many interesting items from Regular breakfast faire, pancakes, waffles and crepes. To unusual such items as spam, curry and hibachi chicken. Definitely worth checking out! read more

Overrated breakfast food. I'm not sure what everyone is raving about....Arrived on Saturday around 10AM, and the place was packed. Only because the place itself is small. Maybe I should've ordered something more "Hawaiian"? I don't know. Just not worth the 45 minutes-1 hour wait. This is kind of a fast food breakfast joint. Get in line, order, pay, and wait for your food. I ordered the Portuguese sausage with rice. Along with the fruity pebbles french toast. Both were just mediocre. I'll give it a chance some other time if my friends insist. read more

This place is great. Outdoor eating is our preference and their food has been fresh and tasty. Our son likes the chicken katsu and fries. And he's picky like many kids. We don't go too often however because I can cook the same thing for a $1 at home but if we want to get out for breakfast this place is solid. Tip. On weekends get there early as it gets really busy. Also if a table is available park one of the people in your party there to save the seat. They'd prefer you wait in line before sitting, but you may not get the seat you'd prefer if you wait in line first. Enjoy read more

All right so I figured out the breaking point between a 3 or 4 star rating for this place. Stacks is not the best breakfast joint but it's pretty good! I'm giving it 4 stars but I can understand why people give it 3 stars. I feel like it honestly comes down to how long you wait for the food. Stacks, despite it being good in my opinion, is not 1hr plus wait good. Sorry, just stating what I think. I mean there are those restaurants that you willingly wait hours for because the food is that good. Stacks, is not one of those restaurants. I got here around 11:30 and waited about 30 mins or so. Oh speaking of waiting, so it's not a sit down and order type of restaurant. It's more of like you wait in line and order at the counter and they give you a number and you take a table. Please do not be that person and hog up a table before you order. It kills the whole movement of things, usually by the time you order there should be a table opening up. Usually, although that may not always be a case but please don't hog a table right when you get there when there's a 30 min line. That means that in the 30 min it takes your party to order, someone could have taken that table and eaten and left. So they offered a bunch of traditional breakfast plates: eggs Benedict, omelettes, various egg dishes and pancakes/waffles/French toast. They also have lunch stuff like burgers and Hawaiian plates. We got the corned beef and eggs with a side of potatoes, Portuguese sausage and eggs with a side of pancakes and the California Benedict. I originally wanted the loco moco but they ran out of rice and it would take 20 mins to wait. Oh well, maybe next time. I was pretty happy with what we got and would honestly come back again to try out the loco moco. So I should probably preface this by saying I'm not really a pancake person. For some odd reason though I wanted pancakes that morning, so we ended up at Stacks. California Benedict, personally out of the 3 dishes we ordered I liked this one the least. It was a bit bland. The potatoes weren't really seasoned and the egg Benedict was bland. I do not think eggs Benedict is their strong suit, at least compared to the other dishes I tried. Their corned beef and potatoes were really good. The corned beef was salty and crunchy but once again the potatoes were not seasoned. However, since we chose to get the egg poached, we were able to break the yolk and mix it with the corned beef. Delicious! The Portuguese sausage and eggs were good, it was my first time having Portuguese sausage and I enjoyed it. Their pancakes were actually pretty good. Thick and fluffy with a slight sweetness to it that wasn't overpowering. Anyways, to end my review, not the absolute best breakfast place but pretty good for the low breakfast competition within the area. Wait can be a bit long especially if you go during popular times. read more

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The food and the service is great! Can't go wrong with anything on the menu... waffles are crisp on the outside and light & fluffy on the inside - exactly how I love my waffles! Place gets crowded but definitely worth the wait! Love how they used the outside area for an abundance of seating.. it gets a little too hot to sit inside with all the body heat if everyone waiting to place their orders read more

Stacks Pancake House - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Irvine, California

We got there at about 10 AM on a sunny Saturday so there was a decent line out the door. This is a "order and then sit" place. They have a ton of outdoor seating. I actually didn't get a chance to look inside because I was holding a table for my friends who were ordering. I think they waited in line for about 30 to 35 minutes but by the time they came to the table the line was almost doubled. Our food came out fairly quickly. We ordered the chicken katsu waffle, trio waffle (waffle with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas), and the strawberries and cream waffle. We also ordered a side of potatoes, bacon, and Portuguese sausage. Everything was tasty. I especially liked the potatoes as sometimes they can be under/overcooked and not salty enough. The waffles were pretty standard and I appreciated the abundance of whipped cream and fruit on my waffle. The orange juice kind of tasted like Minute Maid or Simply Orange which was a bummer because they served it in a plastic cup and straw and I expected that freshly squeezed taste. I am not bougie enough to complain about that but it's something to think about before ordering! The service was great. Someone left their children's art supplies to "claim" a table and when I asked a server about it, he helped me find and cleared off another table in the shade. Even though all the tables were spread out, there was a ton of staff members and they were all really diligent about clearing plates and asking if we were doing okay. Would definitely work this in as a regular breakfast place! read more

First time trying, got the breakfast burrito with turkey sausage and the chicken fried steak with potatoes. The breakfast burrito was pretty standard, nothing amazing. The chicken steak was okay, I was looking for more flavor but good. There was barely any potatoes with the steak which I was disappointed in. It was okay. I love the Portuguese sausage, you can't go wrong. Was a little pricy for only 4 pieces. I don't know if I'm coming back but maybe to try other things. Hopefully next time I get more potatoes. read more

Stacks Pancake House - Country fried steak and potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Irvine, California

This is one of the more popular brunch places in the OC - there's always a line of people out the door on the weekends. Pros: Extensive menu - literally from pancakes to Loco Mocos; definitely a Hawaiian influence to their food (my favorite is their Tonkatsu, which is always perfectly crispy and comes with your choice of 2 sides). Pricing is decent. Good for whether you're craving something sweet (Cap'n Crunch French Toast) or savory. Cons: One bathroom. Limited indoor seating. BIGGEST GRIPE: one register, which leads to extremely slow service that could easily be fixed by adding more registers. They should honestly buy or rent out the tiny retail space next to them, which has been vacant for months, and add a longer counter with more registers. Good brunch foods, but only go on the weekends if you're willing to wait a really really long time to order and then to receive your food. You will likely be sitting outside, which is okay in the cooler months but terrible in the heat. read more

The food was really good ! My mother thought the coffee was a little expensive for the size she got but overall it was great !

The food here is DELICIOUS. My husband and I tried this place for breakfast this past weekend and we're really surprised to see a gigantic line out the door to order. You stand in line to order at the counter, then pick a table. I'm taking off one star because they only had one cashier on a busy Sunday and we had to wait in line for 45 min to order our food. Apparently this is normal. I definitely will come back though because the food was so good. The portions were also gigantic. The strawberry crepes were to die for. Next time I'll just order ahead over the phone. read more

Innovative and tasty breakfast. Go early in the morning on a weekday if you want to get a table quickly. Plan to spend 30 to 90 minutes waiting if you go on a Saturday or Sunday. read more

Pros of my experiences: - significantly shorter wait time compared to Tustin's 'Snooze an A.M. Eatery' (30-45hr vs 1hr15m-2hr) with comparable food (Stacks is slightly less fancy) - pancakes and french toasts are to die for. paired with fantastic butter - can't go wrong with most items in the menu (however, some less-fancy dishes are pretty underwhelming); everything is good Cons of my experiences: - parking is usually crowded and/or tight. plaza is a pain to get in to and leave from (as with most Irvine plazas) - hours (closes at 2:30) - line to order food is poorly designed - in the way of foot traffic - be warned that the ever-so-popular loco moco and hibachi steak & eggs are salty Good-to-know: - pay-at-front seat-yourself style - inside (cramped) and outside (shaded, clean, new, and spacious) seating - employee bussed - employees are somewhat apathetic read more

Love the options here.. I just have an issue with the constant consistent line.. I wished there was a faster way to place an order; or that there was more than 1 person taking orders?? Food comes out pretty quick, but it's usually at least 15 min waiting in line on the OUTSIDE maybe another 5 or inside read more

Found this place on my way to San Diego! It was great I tried the pancakes and spam musubi! So many options can't say to try again!

This was the email sent to corporate on January 31st but I see responses on here. Still no response by email or mail. Checked the spam also but nothing. This is my last resort. The only thing removed was my contact info but other than that it's what I sent them. Picture of their error on website as well was removed. In the email I state that I'll be trying the Kahlua pork later, which I did. It was moist which was good but bland and not as smoky as I'm used to but it was 100% better than that steak mentioned in my email. Cabbage was completely raw though so not sure what the purpose of that was. It's usually served sautéed or steamed to complement the dish. Wouldn't order that again either. I'd still give them another chance but to not reply to my email or reach out at all, was just bad customer service on a business level, especially when I see responses to reviews on this platform. They got 3 stars for the cashiers friendliness and the other girl clearing plates, cleaning up and keeping things moving along throughout the restaurant. The woman who appeared to be the manager was standing around chatting with other employees behind the counter and not doing much to improve the flow of the wait time or orders coming out. I had to request condiments that I wanted as nothing was offered to me for my to go order. See email below: ______________________________________________________ ***Sorry. I tried sending this thru comment section on your website but it's not working. Said to try alternate way of contact. See screenshot below. Please forward to appropriate corporate representative**** Good afternoon. I went to your Irvine location this morning after my Smart & Final run, and was excited to see a Stacks here (Welcome!) as I work in NB and noticed while at that plaza for business, how delicious your food always looked on the plates of your customers. I reviewed the menu and made my 2-3 choices. I informed the cashier it was my first time eating Stacks and asked what she would suggest out of my choices. I advised her I was taking not one but two entress, my breakfast and lunch. My choices were Island Chilaquiles, Hibachi Steak Special and the Kahlua Pork lunch plate. She suggested the Hibachi Steak and described it as Tender, marinated and cooked in Soy sauce and mushrooms. Sold! Asked what kind of eggs, I told her Poached. She suggested Poached Medium as I like them kind of custardy in the middle and not runny. Sounded great. I then ordered the Kahlua Pork with rice and Mac salad. The Hibachi steak was AWFUL. Tough, dry and so bland. I tasted no soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, salt or even pepper. It was also more like boiled meat chunks, not grilled as the name would suggest (as in a Hibachi Grill). The only saving grace on that dish was her suggestion of my eggs, as they were cooked to perfection. I couldn't believe that out of all the cooks (and there were a lot of them back there that I could see), not one of them could get that steak done right. There were also maybe 6 mushroom slices/pieces ( I counted). It was not the cashiers fault, as she was super nice and greeted me right away, not like at some other establishments, so props to her. The kahlua pork is for lunch so I may have to wait for dinner as I had to finish all the rice and eggs as the steak was inedible so I'm full from the rice. I'd love to come back as all the dishes looked great while I was waiting for my to go order, but I know not to do any sort of steak dish or to recommend it. My first instinct was to go with the Island Chilaquiles so I should have stuck with that. Hopefully the Kahlua Pork and Mac salad are good. I can't find my receipt but I was there this morning 01/31/2020 at around 830ish. Order name to go: Christine. As owners, you need to know these things as I want you stay in Irvine, but at these prices, if the quality is not there, customers will complain, not come back and/or go straight to Yelp these days. BTW, your restaurant was very clean, dishes outside were retrieved right away so as not to attract fly's and the coffee/condiment counter area was well stocked. Good job to the young lady I saw tending to all those areas. On the flip side, the young lady making the special coffees could smile more. read more

Kind of the best breakfast place in town. It's no typical breakfast pancake house. They have this Hawaiian fusion in the menu. A very unlikely choice but the food tastes great. I have been here a number of times and the food is always good. The service is very efficient and helpful. I like that they have Hawaiian drinks. Try the Belgium waffles with strawberries, burrito, kimchi fried rice and the eggs. Just some logistics, there is no saving seats. Get in line right away and once you order, a server will direct you to an open seat. They refill your water and seating is inside and mostly outside. Never a bad day to come to stacks. Also, it could get a bit noisy. Good for small kids. read more

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Sad excuse for a breakfast. Got a to go order and this is the crap I got. There was a line out of the door so I'm assuming people love their food. However by the looks of this I'm completely unsatisfied and will not be returning. read more

Stacks Pancake House - Sad excuse for a to go breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Irvine, California

Great food and very nice people, but they need to split the line into 2: pick up and ordering. I ordered the Mac French toast and Kalua eggs Benny and came to pick it up. I could see my order all bagged up and ready to go - all I had to do was pay. But it took 15 minutes to do that because I was in the same line as people still ordering and looking at the menu. By the time I got my food, the eggs had hardened and the French toast was cold and soggy. All because the guy at the front didn't know what he wanted to eat by the time he got to the counter. Split the lines, save my runny yolks! read more

Love this spot, I've been her a handful of times now and have not yet been disappointed. Cinnamon pancakes are a hit!

I had never really looked for a breakfast place in Irvine and I was surprised to find that this is one of the few in the area. I'm not sure if that is the reason why but be prepared to stand in a very very long line if you go on a weekend morning. We ended up waiting in the line for about 20 min before we finally made it to the cashier for ordering. We were very lucky to be able to get a table right after we ordered! This is a pancake house that has Hawaiian breakfast items like Portuguese sausage and eggs, loco moco, and macadamia nut pancakes. I ended up having blueberry 'n cream waffles. It was pretty good but unfortunately, falls under my average food category. I'm almost certain that the blueberries they used were frozen tiny berries and not fresh blueberries. That definitely make a difference when blueberries and cream are the only things that are really giving flavor to the waffle. When the berries are that tiny, you can't really taste them :( It was not a terrible experience but not sure if I'll be back. read more

So, we come here at least once a month, usually more. I should have submitted this review a long time ago! So when you think about breakfast, you don't normally put together captain crunch, Fruity Pebbles, and french toast.... Which is a tremendous error on your part. The crazy combination of totally unhealthy cereal and french toast is literally, yes literally, mind blowing! It's not just the French toast either, the rest of the food is just as good. The service is really friendly. The only thing I can tell you as a negative comment is that is really hard to get a seat! The owner, John, has been here every time and is always working just as hard as everybody else behind the counter. You probably already heard about this place but if you haven't, go stop by. One tip I have for you is to go during the week.... And then come back on the weekend! read more

Stacks Pancake House - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Irvine, California

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After encountering crazy lines at a few other brunch spots we did a quick Yelp search and found Stacks. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect - all I saw was that they had pancakes and was highly rated on Yelp - it was all I needed to draw me here. The menu was quite surprising and to be honest I was quite reluctant when I read through it. It features Hawaiian, Mexican, French and American dishes. They have the traditional dishes like Belgium waffles, omelettes and pancakes, but they also have twists on the classics such as Kalua Pork Eggs Benedict and Portuguese Sausage and Eggs. In addition to breakfast/brunch dishes they also have a handful of different lunch options such as sandwiches and teriyaki. There was a bit of a wait here but honestly I think the reason for that was due to lack of seating and the fact that everyone in front of us seemed to take their sweet time ordering once they got to the counter. As soon as we were seated our food arrived in no less than 10 minutes. Craving something more hearty, I opted for the Portuguese Sausage with sunny side up eggs and a side of rice. I really enjoyed my breakfast and was probably too excited by the fact that my sunny side up eggs weren't burnt. To be honest its nearly impossible to ruin my dish, sausage was cooked well and the rice was fine. The mister got the meat lovers omelette with a side of pancakes, he upgraded for the Mac-Nut Banana pancakes. The Mac-Nut Banana pancakes were delicious, the ratio of banana and macadamia nuts in the batter was perfect and not too overwhelming in texture or sweetness. I also ordered the freshly squeezed orange juice, but to be honest it tasted like it came out of a carton. Yes, Stacks is small in size, the actual restaurant itself holds only so many parties, but they also have outdoor seating. The servers are great at finding seating for the various parties even when the line is out the door and the restaurant seats are full. I was especially grateful for the server who shifted around a few seats so that our party of 2 plus my mini me in her car seat could fit. A few things to note: - With all the construction in the plaza, parking is no bueno - the other side of Trader Joe's has plenty of parking and is more spacious. - If you don't want to deal with the hassle of waiting for an open table, the plaza has some outdoor chairs and tables - just get your order to go. read more

Finally made it here. July 3rd at 7:15AM, NO LINE. You order, pay, they give you a number, and they bring your food to you. They have a pretty varied menu. I thought they only served breakfast, but there are burgers and chicken sandwiches and such on the menu. Got the loco moco with fried rice, hamburger patty, and eggs over easy. Comes with gravy. Also ordered a hot green tea {matcha) latte which was way too sweet. I couldn't even finish it. Eggs on the loco moco were perfectly cooked; they come unseasoned. Hamburger patty did not taste seasoned to me, so it wss pretty bland. On the other hand, gravy was way too salty. Fried rice has egg and green peppers. I'm used to fried rice having onion or green onion, so it just felt like something was missing. Overall, it was an unbalanced dish. I'm not too sure I would order it again. Maybe might try it with just plain rice next time, but with the hamburger patty being unseasoned, not sure if it would make a difference. Service was fast and efficient, and everyone was friendly. I give them a solid 5 stars on service. I'll come back sometime and try another dish though, because I love breakfast. read more

Great food. Long line but it moved fast. Enjoyed each plate as we tried several items and shared them.

They do pancakes better than anyone else's in the City of Irvine. Stack Pancake was really good when I went to Stacks. Every single pancake and eggs were very good, to a quality I can not beat. That how I judge pankcake houses, if they do It better than I, I go. read more

This was one of the top 3 worst breakfasts I've ever had in the U.S. (Test driven 40 of the 50 states here!) Pancakes were bland and rubbery and are served with fake syrup, bacon was dry and not of good quality. The coffee tasted watery or instant like, no flavor at all! The eggs were decent but nothing to spend $ on. Overall It's a complete mystery to me why people enjoy this place. I don't recommend wasting your money here, even Denny's can serve a better breakfast :/ read more

Bad. All bad. From the construction outside, to the cleanliness of the inside, to the food. This was our first time here and we were unimpressed. Way overpriced for what you get. Ordered a short stack, meh. Syrup was in a plastic squeeze bottle from a picnic, tasted like blueberry or plastic...hard to decide. Egg breakfast with potatoes...again, no good. Eggs were hard, luke warm, potato's were deep fried like a French Fry, and over salted. Mocha Latte tasted like hot vanilla milk. Breakfast is a favorite in our family. I make better breakfast on Sunday morning. Don't waste your money. Denny's is better, and that says a lot read more

Love love love Stacks! The food is always on point and hits the spot whether you're craving something sweet or something savory for breakfast. The staff always seem to be pleasant and helpful. Pre-quarantine lines would be long on weekends but moves pretty quickly and totally worth the wait if you. I've ordered through DoorDash a couple of times and my food tasted just as good. read more

The food here is great, but the customer service is terrible. My order was taken by an extremely rude waitress/cashier who gave me attitude and rolled her eyes when I asked her a simple question about one of the breakfast combos. Sweetie, if you don't like your job then find a different one- don't take it out on customers. read more

I usually eat at breakfast and brunch at home but once in awhile I like to go out to get some really delicious breakfast. Stacks opened earlier this year and everyone was talking about it. They have another location in mission Viejo I believe but I have never been there. This has been my group of friends and I "go to" spot for breakfast when we want to get together. Food: Kalua pork, egg Benedict, my favorite there. Pork is really soft and the mix of breakfast food and a Hawaiian fusion is pretty good! I get this almost 9/10 times I go here. French toast: pretty taste. Soft and really good. For $8-$10 I wouldn't buy it every time, only when I really really crave it. Loco noco: super flavorful! And they give you a huge portion. I would buy this dish if I was sharing with someone because it's a lot of rice with it. Pancakes: different flavor pancakes available, their regular house one is good enough for me. Super fluffy and fresh. Customer service: Customer service is okay, I wouldn't give it such high stars. You only really get a sense of customer service when you purchase your food. This is not your typical come in and sit down place. You stand in line (wait is pretty long depending on the time/ weekends are killer) and then you get to th front to order food then after they seat you, IF there is seating. I haven't ever had an issue sitting cause there's tons of outside seating now (they added more seats and canopies the last time I went). There's never really anyone coming to greet you or asking if you need anything else. No refills or any sense of communication with employees after you get your food. Technically this is a sit down place but it's not really like that. They can definitely hire more people with the traffic they get to attend to the customers. Overall, food is good, but customer service is eh. read more

Stacks Pancake House - Kalua pork, egg Benedict w/ potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Irvine, California

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Came here with my girlfriend. Waited in line for about 40 min. We expected this, but figured it would be worth it. First off, the "fresh-squeezed" orange juice is from a store-bought bottle. I saw this when i was ordering and confirmed it when we tasted it. My girlfriend had the Kahlua pork omelette. This dish was coved in cheese, and the pork had no flavor. Worked pretty badly with the taste of eggs too. She got a side of blue berry pancakes which were just dry and unappetizing. I ordered the cornbeef hash and eggs combo. I subbed in frenchtoast over pancakes. That was a good move! French toast was delicious. Too bad that was only supposed to be a side. The cornbeef hash was just plain. Eggs were ok. read more

This place is interesting and pretty appropriate for the location. It's a breakfast place that has most of your usual suspects on a menu (pancakes, waffles, omelettes, etc). It has a Hawaiian/Asian twist that features spam and Korean BBQ. I ordered very boring items, plain waffles and 2 fried eggs. The waffles were crispy and sweet. I personally didn't think it needs syrup but they have a wide variety of syrup. It's a well run establishment and I can see why it's a popular spot on the weekends. There is currently construction going on within this plaza so the parking isn't as expansive as it would be. Overall, the experience was good, solid. read more

Not often in the mood for or a huge fan of breakfast, but Stacks really does it right when the craving strikes. Service is on point, they are well trained to handle the crowds that come here in the morning. There is usually a line, but the wait still minimal which I greatly appreciate, especially dining with kids. Portions are average, but the food filling and the prices great. I usually order something savory such as their corned beef hash as well as something sweet like their captain crunch Mac nut French toast. I also love their coffee, both hot and iced. Great breakfast option in the area. read more