* What: Pancake mix
* Company: Aretha Frankenstein's
* Address: 518 Tremont St.
* Web site: www.arethas.com
* Telephone: 265-7685
* Owner: Jeff Brakebill
* What's special: The quirky look. "If you go back throughout pancake history, all the pancake mixes seem to be dated or nostalgic," said owner Jeff Brakebill. "There wasn't a cool, hip pancake mix."
* The origin story: Before Aretha's opened, Mr. Brakebill decided to develop a pancake his wife would enjoy. Three years and a notebook full of recipes later. He stopped when she finished one pancake and said she liked it.
* How long does it take to make: Ingredients can be mixed, bagged and shipped from Aretha's miller in West Virginia to store shelves in as little as 24 hours.
* Where it's sold: Publix, Bi-Lo, Mojo Burrito, Mia Cucina, Pruett's on Signal Mountain, and Cook's Foods and Season's Harvest, both in Cleveland, Tenn.
* How long have they been making them: Mr. Brakebill began considering selling the mix after receiving a flood of requests for the recipe when a fire closed the restaurant in April 2006. The mix went on the market in early 2007.
* Future expansions: Aretha's new waffle mix is ready to sell, but Mr. Brakebill said he's waiting for Food Network to take the recipe off its Web site first. He gave it to Rachel Ray for a special on Aretha's in 2005.
* Lessons of the trade: "The learning curve for marketing is steep," Mr. Brakebill said. "I thought it was just that you put out a good product and people would want it. There's a whole lot more to it.
"It's a relationship you develop with your customers and that they, in turn, share with their friends. It becomes a grassroots uprising for your product."