The imposing cranes looming over San Diego’s East Village are a rosy sight to the folks at The Mission SoMa (south of Market). Surrounded also by multihued condominium structures nudging out the area’s blight, the restaurant known for its Zen breakfasts and Latin-inspired lunches is a sitting duck for big business.

With locations long established in North Park and Mission Beach, the owners are among those lucky entrepreneurs who can hone in on an upcoming “hot spot” and then have the wherewithal to invest. In less than three years from now, every restaurateur in town will lust for a lease in these “village” blocks already peppered with quaintness and mixed architecture.

With the defunct (and still missed) Mixx behind them, Deborah Helm, Thomas Fitzpatrick and Fay Nakanishi now relish a daytime working schedule rare to restaurant operators. Their time is devoted to the breakfast and lunch cliques at all three Missions, which close at 3:00 p.m. seven days a week.

The building that marks their new downtown location is a superb example in historic preservation. A restored Old West, Victorian-style structure once known as Rosario Hall, it served as a former saloon, meeting hall and then rooming house in its 100-year-plus lifetime. Drive by too fast, and you’ll never guess that pancakes are flipping inside.

My dining comrade and I arrived in the lull between breakfast and lunch, which meant we ended up eating both. There was no turning down the Roast Beef Hash & Eggs made with portly pieces of grilled Angus strewn throughout a mass of rosemary potatoes that I wished were cut down a notch in size. Nonetheless, the dish is flavorful and geared for hearty appetites when you delve further into the accompanying eggs and thick slabs of grilled bread.

By all accounts, The Mission is for pancake lovers. And the ones made with fresh fruit are a must. Our blueberry flapjacks (three to an order) appeared to contain a full pint of berries, left mostly whole and oozing their warm juice into the heart of the cakes. Squiggles of sweet puree made for a happy-looking presentation, which also included sunny scrambled eggs and thick, double-smoked bacon. Other choices include strawberry (with our without granola topping), banana, blackberry, cornmeal and “naked.”

We also tried the Plato Verde Con Huevos, two utterly moist tamales with eggs over-medium. The dish may lack eye appeal to some because, with a bathing of roasted tomatillo sauce, it juxtaposes the color green with the eggs. But get past the physiological barrier and you’ll be introduced to one of the tastiest Mexican-style breakfasts in San Diego.

Our waitress warned us when ordering the Baja Shrimp Wrap that it’s hot and spicy. My companion was fearful. I remained intent. The jumbo lunch wrap, stuffed with medium-sized shrimp, gets its kick from fresh jalapenos and beans cooked in salsa. The result is a beautiful slow burn that kept me engaged, while my friend reached instantly for her cherry Jones Soda after one bite.

The menus at all three Missions are the same, and loaded with cult favorites such as the hyper-healthy Zen Breakfast, which includes scrambled egg whites, braised tofu, brown rice and grilled zucchini. The Desayuno Burrito is a large tortilla stuffed with potatoes, eggs, cheese and beans made novel by chipotle cream. Or from the “Chino-Latino” division, you’ll find the veggie-loaded Double Happiness Bowl with brown rice, and a Ginger-Sesame Chicken Roll Up with Thai peanut sauce.

Handmade breads and pastries, plus salads and sandwiches round out the offerings, all of which are decidedly fresh and simple without sinking too far into the “health food” category. For the Blackberry-Banana Smoothie I took to go, the lack of dairy was a welcome change. A touch of apple juice and a pinch of brown sugar kept it thin and thirst-quenching.

Since opening in February, the eatery remains relatively calm and peaceful on weekdays, though it’s attracting enthusiastic lines on the weekends. When the nearby construction crews eventually disappear and leave in their wake a fully revitalized neighborhood, the very cool Mission SoMa will sizzle like bacon all the way to the bank.