Eggs with Benefits, a Loyola-area Korean-inspired breakfast spot, is set to open an Evanston location within a month.
The restaurant will be replacing the 527 Cafe at 527 Davis St., and is currently in the process of acquiring a building permit, according to Eggs with Benefits operating partner Andrew Oh.
Oh created the restaurant last October alongside two other operating partners: Will Song and Ricardo Chavez.
The menu includes a short and focused list of elevated egg bowls and sandwiches. Prices range from $6.99 for the Soft-Scramble sandwich to $12.99 for the Tonkatsu, Japanese Curry and Egg bowl. Oh said Eggs with Benefits aims to serve Loyola University Chicago — and soon, Northwestern — students affordable and satiating meals.
“There’s this weird stereotype that college kids don’t really care — they’re on their parents’ dime, they’ll splurge,” Oh said. “That’s absolutely not true. What I’ve noticed is that if there’s a deal to be had, you guys will take it.”
Oh said the idea for Eggs with Benefits was inspired by popular breakfast sandwich restaurants on the West Coast such as Eggslut. He and the other operating partners wanted to bring something similar to the Chicago area.
The restaurant will be adding to a recent wave of new Evanston restaurants, including Mensch’s Deli, Inspired Indian Co. and Dos Bros.
Downtown Evanston Executive Director Andy Vick said his organization, working closely with the city’s Economic Development Committee, wants to make Evanston as attractive to new businesses as possible. For example, he said he believes this summer’s programming, highlighted by the 2024 Downtown Summer Sounds free concert series, has helped bring positivity to the community.
“That kind of energy spreads out, and hopefully people pick up on that and say, ‘Hey, that’s the kind of place I want to be,’” he said. “And on top of that, in general, I think Evanston has always been a very desirable place to be.”
When it joins Evanston’s wide array of brunch restaurants, such as Le Peep and Ovo Frito Café, affordability could be an important factor in Eggs with Benefits’ ability to succeed.
Nina Kroll, a junior at Loyola University, said she and her friends have hesitated to eat at Eggs with Benefits because they’d rather not spend any money on breakfast at all.
“I don’t think a lot of college students go out for breakfast that much, because everybody’s on a budget,” she said. “If they’re gonna eat out, it’s probably gonna be at games or something for dinner.”
Song, Chavez and Oh have plenty of experience providing Evanstonians with cheap meals. Before opening their restaurant, Oh said they spent five years working together at 10Q Chicken, which The Daily recognized as having Evanston’s Best Budget Menu in 2024.
Oh said the three of them enjoy working in college towns. He added that, at 10Q, catering for NU’s football team and serving high numbers of students on Dillo Day always brought in a significant amount of revenue.
“I’m excited to be back in Evanston,” he said. “I love Northwestern University; you guys are so much fun. We’ll see you there.”
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