Overview
Eggs Up Grill is home to the whole neighborhood, serving smiles from sun-up through lunch. Since opening in 1997 at the original location in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, Eggs Up Grill has been a place where the local community could catch up with family, friends and neighbors over a breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Eggs Up Grill began franchising in 2008, growing to over 45 locations across the Southeast, making a name for itself as a homestead of hospitality.
Many factors make Eggs Up Grill a neighborhood go-to restaurant. The brand’s focus on serving as a friendly locale for the surrounding community means that from the moment guests enter, they’re greeted by smiling team members, the sizzle of fresh bacon and the aroma of fluffy blueberry pancakes. The menu features feel-good favorites ranging from hot-from-the-griddle pancakes to signature omelets to piled-high breakfast sandwiches. Additionally, Eggs Up Grill offers to-go, delivery and catering options so that guests can enjoy Eggs Up Grill fare outside of the four walls of the restaurant. In short, the breakfast, brunch and lunch concept has everything to make you smile.
Why Choose Us?
Now, more than ever, Egg Up Grill is the right brand for franchising in the restaurant segment. Historically Eggs Up Grill has offered strong unit-level economics and a two decade plus track record of success. This record of success, along with its talented leadership team and strong portfolio of franchisees, has proven sustainable even during the incredibly challenging 2020 period. The Brand has quickly pivoted to exploit off-premise revenue and profit opportunities, growing that segment to over 20% of total sales, 4 times what they were pre-pandemic. Work is underway to maintain those sales levels even as the overall industry begins its recovery in 2021, including the evolution of the Brand’s new restaurant prototype.
Explicit initiatives to improve restaurant level profitability are paying immediate dividends to Eggs Up Grill’s franchisee base and setting the foundation for ongoing margin growth. All of this work is in addition to the industry leading steps the Brand took to help it’s franchisees navigate the immediate impacts of the pandemic, from operational standards focused on team member and guest safety to assisting them as they worked through the PPP process.
Eggs Up Grill’s unique daypart focus attracts business-minded investors looking to add a brand with a proven model to their portfolios and doesn’t require franchisees to have prior restaurant experience. Once they get into the brand, franchisees see firsthand the scalability of the concept, with 50 percent of franchisees having reinvested into the brand over the last few years and many with signed agreements for additional new restaurants.
Eggs Up Grill’s inviting atmosphere, product and community feel keeps team members rewarded and happy. The 6am-2pm hours of operation provide an advantage with hiring and retention, often attracting a more family-oriented, responsible team member. Servers and cooks often work with the brand for more than a decade—that’s not an accident.
Ideal Candidate
Our mission is to partner with strong franchisees who always offer Eggs Up Grill guests warm, friendly service, along with fresh, made-to-order food at a reasonable price point, all in a neighborhood setting.
The ideal franchisee for an Eggs Up Grill is very engaged and hands-on in their business and in their local community. Eggs Up Grill franchise owners are hospitality-minded and guest-centered, high energy and forward-thinking, with a passion for results and an eagerness to drive growth.
Half of our franchisees had no prior restaurant experience. Many owners are first-time business owners. Successful ownership models include owner-operator or engaged multi-unit owner. We are also seeking existing franchisees who are interested in expanding their portfolios.
History
In 1997, Founder Chris Skodras opened the original Eggs Up Grill in the coastal community of Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The restaurant quickly became known as the home of great tasting food, casual conversations and long-lasting memories. It was the start of Eggs Up Grill being the gathering place for family and friends in each community we call home.
In 2018, private investment firm WJ Partners acquired Eggs Up Grill, equipping the brand to grow and serve up its all-inclusive atmosphere and fresh dishes in even more neighborhoods across the U.S. Led by former TGI Friday’s executive Ricky Richardson, Eggs Up Grill is impressively primed to inspire smiles and become a wider community mainstay, reaching the 100-location mark by 2023.
Training And Support
The only company-owned restaurant out of the brand’s 45-plus locations is also home to the brand’s Training Center and Innovation Lab. The restaurant features a meeting room and training kitchen, providing franchisees with the space they need to get hands-on experience with the brand prior to opening and operating their own restaurants. The training programs instill the importance of the community connections, the warm, friendly and attentive service and our goal to always make guests always feel right at home.
Vice President of Operations Jeff McCabe built a seasoned team to lead training efforts for kitchen operations, food safety controls, operational best practices, local and brand marketing, financial performance tools and much more. The one-on-one support for franchisees continues through to the restaurant’s opening—and beyond. All of this is coordinated day to day through experienced, field-based Franchise Business Consultants and supported through the brand’s leadership team.
