When brothers Nick and Zachary Presti recently launched EggBoy — their first-of-a-kind Beaches restaurant specializing in egg-centric sandwiches — they tapped into a growing appetite for breakfast and brunch, both locally and nationwide.
The days of breakfast typically being a bowl of cold corn flakes at the kitchen table are long gone. And brunch is no longer just for special occasions or a weekend treat justifying bottomless mimosas.
The hunger for better breakfast and brunch options has sparked wildfire-like growth of the restaurant segment celebrating what has long been regarded as "the most important meal of the day."
When it opened in mid-April at 1241 Mayport Road in Atlantic Beach, EggBoy became the latest entry in Jacksonville's breakfast boom which has exploded in the last decade.
At the forefront of the area's breakfast boom are Orange Park-based Grumpy’s Restaurant, which already has five restaurants with at least three more coming soon, as well as Metro Diner and Maple Street Biscuit Company , both of which were founded in Jacksonville and have branched out nationwide.
Contributing to the expansion is an influx of national chains such as Canopy Road Cafe , which the Presti brothers as franchise owners introduced to Northeast Florida. In addition, Keke's Breakfast Cafe , First Watch and Scramblers all have established a growing footprint in the area.
Breakfast historically has been an underserved sector of the daypart restaurant business, especially by many of the large chains, Daniel DeLeon, president and CEO of Grumpy's Restaurant, told the Times-Union.
"The dedicated breakfast and lunch segment was a little under-served, especially in the Jacksonville market but nationally, as a whole, historically. And I think that people have been racing to kind of fill that void. They see a large opportunity in that sector, specifically in the dedicated breakfast and lunch daypart," said DeLeon, who is recognized as an expert and leader in restaurant franchising.
DeLeon noted that larger national companies and smaller local ones like Grumpy's "have really been able to capitalize on that and want to continue to capitalize on it."
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Breakfast sandwiches fuel growth of breakfast business
Nestled on a biscuit, croissant, English muffin, bagel or brioche bread, breakfast sandwiches are a moveable meal with options including eggs, sausage, bacon, fried chicken, cheese, and avocado or other veggies.
The breakfast sandwich has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade, reported the Washington Post in October 2023, citing a market analysis from Circana , a leading consumer behavior market research firm.
Last year, breakfast sandwiches were the fastest-growing item at quick-service restaurants and convenience stores, Circana data showed.
“The breakfast sandwich has been a portable source of protein that is convenient and nutritious. That’s been the biggest change in breakfast in the last 10 years,” David Portalatin, food industry adviser to Circana, told the Washington Post.
The Presti brothers opened EggBoy in a joint venture with Canopy Road Cafe. The brothers are preparing to open their third Canopy Road Cafe in Mandarin this summer.
"I think the real reason we chose breakfast sandwiches is because at our other restaurants, it's one of the most-ordered items," Nick Presti told the Times-Union.
During the first few days of its soft opening, EggBoy served 2,697 fresh, free-range chicken eggs, Zachary Presti noted.
Located in the busy Mayport area of Atlantic Beach, EggBoy aims to serve the needs of "people on the go," those "who kind of keep the world going," the brothers said.
"All we do is offer sandwiches at EggBoy. … It's something good and easy that someone can grab and get, whether it's fueling someone up for the day in the morning or something at lunch while they go," Nick Presti said. "… And it definitely gives us the opportunity to start someone's day off right."
EggBoy is the latest Beaches restaurant concentrating on breakfast sandwiches. Its predecessors and competition include Vicious Biscuit , which opened in March 2023 in Neptune Beach, and Maple Street Biscuit Company, which has been in Jacksonville Beach since 2013.
Nick Presti said the restaurant's open concept, where people can see their breakfast being cooked, also creates a relationship between the guests and the staff. It "also keeps people honest in what we're selling and our cooking methods," he said.
Breakfast is the new lunch, brunch is the new dinner
Breakfast and brunch restaurants are community staples.
Measured by revenue, the market size of the Breakfast Restaurants and Diners Industry nationwide totaled $14.6 billion last year, according to IBISWorld , a widely respected independent source of global industry and market research.
Last year, that market size increased 1.4 percent. Although slightly lower, that is consistent with the average 1.8 percent annual market growth between 2018 and last year, IBISWorld reported .
The nationwide breakfast and brunch boom is expected to continue, Technomic, a well-known foodservice research firm, reported in its "What's in Store for 2024" analysis.
"A breakfast boom during the work week will have guests treating themselves to foodservice in the morning rather than lunch — as a satisfying yet more affordable restaurant occasion. And on the weekends, brunch will become the new dinner thanks to its equally appealing social aspects, large adult beverage selections and lower average checks," Technomic said in a news release announcing its analysis.
Grumpy's: Local chain expands in Northeast Florida
When DeLeon and his wife, Morgan, bought the original Grumpy's Restaurant in November 2017, the Orange Park diner — which dated back to 1999 — was teetering on the brink of closing permanently.
The couple set out to revitalize the restaurant. They renovated, repaired and remodeled the time-battered building and overhauled the menu to serve only freshly, made-to-order homestyle breakfast, brunch and lunch fare in ample portions at family-friendly prices.
In the six years since, the American and Southern-style diner has earned multiple awards for its food, and expanded its footprint to a total of five Northeast Florida locations: Orange Park, Middleburg, Neptune Beach, Saint Johns and Wildlight (Yulee).
DeLeon said although leases haven't been finalized, Grumpy's anticipates opening three more restaurants in the next 12 months. The openings will be staggered with the first expected to open by year's end. He also confirmed that Grumpy's is seeking franchisees in the St. Augustine, Gainesville and Orlando markets for future restaurants.
Grumpy's success is rooted in the community, he said.
Many of the restaurant's larger competitors, DeLeon said, didn't recognize the opportunity in neighborhood settings. The success the breakfast and lunch restaurants can have in smaller neighborhood settings is Grumpy's bread and butter.
"We prefer and want to go to smaller neighborhood settings and be that local melting pot, your go-to breakfast-lunch diner in that area," DeLeon said. "That's really what our business model is built off of. Filling that void and bringing that place to the communities."
Why breakfast is the meal ticket for Jacksonville restaurants
Multiple factors influence Jacksonville's breakfast and brunch scene, said Jim Farah, a clinical assistant professor of management and law at Jacksonville University's Davis College of Business and Technology.
"In general, breakfast food has seemed to increase in popularity overall. Some restaurants have pivoted by also offering breakfast items all day instead of limiting the offering to just mornings," Farah told the Times-Union via email.
Farah said in recent years, it seems that restaurants have been able to charge more for a breakfast plate while also improving the perceived value for breakfast food.
"In other words, a successful breakfast restaurant these days is not just promoting, for example, a less expensive $3.99 breakfast plate, which may be perceived as a lower quality food item. Instead, some restaurants are providing higher quality breakfast plates and are promoting more quality items that warrant charging a higher overall price," Farah said.
Adaptability has been key to surviving the pandemic and its lingering aftermath of supply chain disruptions, rising prices and labor shortages.
"Some restaurants or businesses may not have experienced a drastic decrease in revenue during the pandemic because they revamped their takeout service and either added or increased drive-through capabilities, which also allowed them to expand hours of operation with a reduced staff," Farah said.
Since the pandemic, Farah said, "we've been seeing a dramatic increase in demand for building spaces with drive-through service abilities."
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Most noticeably, drive-throughs are increasingly more common as takeout and delivery service matches or exceeds dine-in service.
Farah said even restaurants that were not primarily known for drive-throughs, such as Starbucks, Panera and Dunkin' , are shifting their model to move to increase their footprint with more drive-through spaces.
"Most restaurants that serve breakfast that do not have a drive through certainly wish they were able to have one," said Farah, noting that having take-out and drive-through service improves the overall financial rations.
Also, the table turnover rate for breakfast is much faster than dinner. So a breakfast restaurant could serve more people during the relevant time period, he said. During the week most people will eat and get going to work.
"If I were to speculate on the projection, I would think that for about five more years or so, we may see a continued interest in sit-down breakfast/brunch type restaurants before we hit the saturation wall," Farah said.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Breakfast boom: Jacksonville restaurants scramble to meet breakfast, brunch appetites
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