Six weeks ago, the Pancake Kitchen ended 54 years of being open around the clock and shut its doors for the very first time.

Under its new regime, the iconic city diner closed at 11pm on weekdays.

But now the 54-year-old restaurant has flipped again, reversing that decision and reverting to being open 24/7.

And it has also unveiled plans to open a Pancake Kitchen franchise.

“We were just testing the reduced hours,” said owner Mark Sandgren.

“We don’t make a lot of money on those nights (Monday to Thursday) but then I found for the six weeks that we were closed, there were things that had been done at night that we ended up having to do during the day.

“So in the end, I decided we’ll just keep going as we had been. It’s been successful for 54 years, let’s keep it going.”

The diner has had rave reviews for its decision on its Facebook page.

“Pancakes 24/7. You guys are super sweet unbelievable,” posted one. “Better get pancakes to celebrate,” wrote another.

Mr Sandgren said he was “very positive about Adelaide”. “There are a lot of residents in the city and we have a tremendous following among international students. They come here a lot — and that’s great,” he said.

US-born Mr Sandgren said his goal was to make The Pancake Kitchen like American fast-food diner Denny’s — a popular 24-hour, sit-down chain — by adding burgers, nachos and chicken wings to the menu.

He said it has worked so well, he planned to launch the business as a franchise.

“We’re looking at franchising a reduced-size, almost kiosk-style diner.”