The Egg Harbor Cafe, a chain of brunch restaurants throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Georgia, is set to open its 21st restaurant in Evanston on Nov. 14.
The late Jack Wright (Kellogg ‘52) and his then-wife, Paula, started the Egg Harbor chain alongside their daughter and son-in-law, Aimee and Mike Farrell, in 1985. Now, after 38 years, Aimee and Mike Farrell are finally opening a restaurant in the college town where their parents met.
“With our founder’s special connection to Northwestern, we are excited to serve the students at Northwestern and provide a warm space to connect and fuel up on coffee and yummy breakfast,” Emily Randolph, Egg Harbor’s director of marketing and outreach, wrote in an email to The Daily.
Egg Harbor will be located in the Church Street Plaza at 1701 Maple Ave. — the former location of the now-closed Italian restaurant Terra & Vine.
Its menu will offer classic breakfast foods like omelets, pancakes and french toast, along with lunch dishes such as salads and sandwiches. There will also be a gluten-free menu and a barista bar and alcoholic breakfast beverages.
Egg Harbor purchased a long-term lease of its location from GW Properties, the owner of the Church Street Plaza. The restaurant’s opening comes along with several other recently opened businesses and businesses that will open soon, such as AMC Theatres, Devil Dawgs, Crumbl Cookies and Big Wig Tacos.
“We’re very excited to have (Egg Harbor) as a part of our project,” GW Properties owner Mitch Goltz said.
Randolph told The Daily that Egg Harbor plans to host a grand opening event on Nov. 14. The restaurant also plans to connect with the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, introduce a “VIP list” and partner with local groups such as the Chicago North Shore Moms.
All of this is part of the cafe’s multifaceted marketing plan, which Randolph said aims to set Egg Harbor apart from other breakfast spots in the area. Evanston is home to a wide range of brunch spots, including Le Peep and Ovo Frito, to name a few.
“We pride ourselves in making our guests feel like family, where everyone has a seat at the table,” Randolph said. “Furthermore, our longstanding mission of improving lives will resonate with our guests.”
Egg Harbor also hopes to cater to NU students. Some students, such as Weinberg sophomore Larkin Stephanos, said they are ready to try the new cafe.
“There’s a lot of restaurants in Evanston that I have yet to explore,” Stefanos said. “I only know of one brunch place, so I think it would be a cool new thing to experience in the city.”
Other students, including Weinberg freshman Gemma Cohen, were a bit more hesitant but still open-minded. Cohen said it’s unlikely for her to frequent breakfast restaurants because of the convenience of dining halls.
“If I was going out with friends or something, I might want to go to a special place, but I don’t know,” Cohen said. “I’m kind of fine with what we have here.”
Randolph said Egg Harbor will try to attract customers regardless through “higher quality clean food, a stronger focus on customer service and a family-owned business.”
“With our mission to improve lives one encounter at a time, we see Evanston as a place where we can touch many lives, making every breakfast or lunch a memorable encounter,” Randolph said.
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