The Egg & I, a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant chain founded in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1987, will open its first St. Louis location this July at 11692 Manchester Road in Des Peres. The Egg & I currently has locations in thirteen states (not counting Missouri), including at 455-D Regency Park Drive in O'Fallon, Illinois.
Brentwood native Robert Gombas, along with two business partners, will be the exclusive franchisee for The Egg & I on the Missouri side of the metro area. He tells Gut Check that the Des Peres restaurant is the first of seven planned locations.
"We're contractually obligated to open a new restaurant every twelve months," Gombas explains. He's currently in lease negotiations for the next location, which will likely be west of Des Peres in Ballwin or Chesterfield. He expects that Egg & I to open sometime between January and March of 2013.
As for the timeframe for further expansion, Gombas says it depends on "how warm the reception is." That said, he says the O'Fallon, Illinois, location, which is owned by a separate franchisee, has been "killing it" so far.
Unsurprisingly, the Egg & I breakfast menu features numerous egg dishes: scrambles, omelettes, frittatas. A section called "Eggs Olé" has dishes with a Southwestern and Tex-Mex flavor. Breakfast staples like pancakes and waffles are also available. The lunch menu isn't quite as expansive, featuring salads, sandwiches and wraps.
The Egg & I will be open from 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
