After temporarily shifting focus from growth to stability, the breakfast, brunch and lunch brand is back on track to reach 100 restaurants by mid-2022.
Eggs Up Grill is accelerating growth of the brand, all while ensuring stability and support for franchise owners navigating unprecedented times. Recently, the brand opened 2 new restaurants and announced the signing of a new franchisee who spent his career with IHOP. The success speaks to the strength of the business model, even during a tough economic climate, and the timeless product offering.
“Eggs Up Grill has opened six new locations so far this year, and another seven are confirmed to open later in 2020, which blows away our opening record,” said Vice President of Franchise Development Todd Owen. “Of our new locations this year, eight are with new franchisees and five are with existing franchisees. That’s a pretty healthy growth rate for Eggs Up Grill—it speaks to the strength of our franchise offering.”
In May, the brand opened two new locations, one with existing franchisee Dazz Collins, who now has three restaurants with the breakfast, brunch and lunch brand.
Collins’ newest location is in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The former pre-school teacher of 20 years first joined the brand in 2015 when she purchased an existing location in nearby Greenville. She opened a second location in Greenville in 2019, and that same year she received the brand’s Platinum Egg Award at the annual owners’ meeting for having the top sales result in the entire franchise system. She and her team live the brand values as well. During COVID-19, Collins has donated nearly $3,000 worth of meals to support health care workers, as well as children and families affiliated with local school districts.
Husband-and-wife team Kevin and Teresa Arnold opened their initial Eggs Up Grill restaurant in the Charleston, South Carolina-area community of West Ashley on May 23. While new to the restaurant industry they are no strangers to business ownership, having owned and operated three Workout Anytime fitness franchises and a residential cleaning business. While pursuing new business opportunities they became intrigued with Eggs Up Grill, learning about it from a neighbor, who is also a franchisee.
“When I checked out the concept, I loved the family atmosphere and the hours of operation,” Kevin Arnold said. “We later met the brand team, including CEO Ricky Richardson, and they were just wonderful. We knew they would provide us with the support we needed to be successful.”
The Arnolds also love the brand’s focus on providing a wonderful guest experience. They plan on opening more Eggs Up Grill restaurants and will start scouting locations within the next few months. They are thrilled with their new venture and the people they have met so far, including their team members.
“We can’t say enough good things about our team members,” Kevin said. “Like us, they’re committed to providing a great guest experience, and our guests always talk about how amazing and responsive they are.”
The brand also signed on a new franchisee and IHOP franchise veteran Keith Moore, who will open his restaurant later this year in Gastonia, North Carolina. Prior to joining Eggs Up Grill, Moore worked as an area director for IHOP. When he learned about Eggs Up Grill, he liked a lot of the things the brand was doing, including the business model. As a restaurant industry veteran who understands the breakfast space, he also feels especially prepared for this next chapter of his professional life.
“I don’t have much of a learning curve,” he said. “I’m already familiar with the business of the breakfast and lunch segment. We’ll be able to have good operations right off the bat.”
Moore is confident Eggs Up Grill will be well-received in Gastonia. “Gastonia is a growing place,” Moore said. “There’s nothing like Eggs Up Grill in the area, so a lot of locals will drive into Charlotte for breakfast. This new Eggs Up Grill restaurant will definitely fill a niche in the community.”
Boasting 11 quarters of year-over-year sales growth as of early 2020, the breakfast, brunch and lunch brand sets itself apart from the competitive breakfast segment thanks to a community-centric culture, magnetic guest appeal, compelling economics and strategic growth throughout the Southeastern U.S.
Eggs Up Grill has a couple looming multi-unit deals in Virginia along with a deep pipeline of locations scheduled to open in 2021. Such continued interest in the franchise opportunity is due in part to the brand’s strong financial performance, an experienced support system and simple operations.
“The level of quality engagement has gone up with prospects,” Owen said. “The prospective franchisees most serious about the business opportunity are not intimidated by the current situation. We are an effectively 100% franchised system, and our mission is to survive and thrive and with things opening up we are on our way. The Eggs Up Grill leadership team is focused on what we can do to help ensure the success of our franchisees as the country starts to reopen.”
The startup costs for an Eggs Up Grill franchise range from $462,330 to $653,680. The franchise fee is $39,000. To learn more about franchising with Eggs Up Grill, visit https://eggsupgrill.com/franchise/.
