Pints for Pancakes
If you've been wanting a good excuse to try a new breakfast spot, on Friday, July 14 you can help save a life and be rewarded with a tasty treat.
New Flour Bluff restaurant, My Mimi's Kitchen, is hosting its first-ever Pints for Pancakes Blood Drive. On that day, blood donors can go to the restaurant at 10529 S. Padre Island Dr.
A Coastal Bend Blood Center Mobile unit is parked outside the business from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Appointments are recommended, and walk-ins are welcome. To schedule an appointment, call the blood center at (361) 855-4943 to make an appointment.
Donors will receive a T-shirt, a pair of Hooks Baseball Tickets and pancakes from My Mimi's Kitchen while supplies last.
About My Mimi's Kitchen
Julia Mills is the owner of the breakfast spot. The mother-of-eight said she opened the business in March of 2023, and it is truly family owned and operated.
"My moms in the back making jams, my dads actually back there dishwashing, my son's back there cooking, and my husband oversees a lot of the recipes," she said.
Just about everything that is served there ismade from scratch daily.
The cuisine is inspired by home-cooked meals a grandmother, like Mimi Julia would serve. She said food is always served with love.
"I have four grand babies believe it or not. Yes, and a lot of the recipes not only came from me and our family but generations of our family's recipes." said the business owner.
Her devotion to family is not only fueling the heart of her restaurant, it's also the reason she has a strong desire to give back to the community.
About three years ago her husband, Chad, was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer, Polycythemia Vera.
It causes your bone marrow to make too many red blood cells. These excess cells thicken blood, slowing its flow, which may cause serious problems, such as blood clots.
Its a rare form of cancer that usually develops slowly, and a person might have it for years without knowing. Often the condition is found during a blood test done for another reason. Without treatment, polycythemia vera can be life-threatening. But proper medical care can help ease signs, symptoms and complications of this disease.
Julia said the Coastal Bend Blood Center has been helping Chad with treatment and attributes the service for keeping him alive.
"I can honestly say it's become a family to be over there. They know why we're coming they know the purpose of our visits, they're just really good about keep the smile alive," she said. "They can't get enough donations over there. So, I wanted to really support them because they made a big difference in my life that I wanted to give back to them and this is the perfect way to do it."
Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets, according to the American Red Cross.
