First Watch bills itself as a "daytime cafe" open for breakfast, brunch and lunch.FOEB changes meeting location
The recently reconvened Friends of East Brainerd community group, which has held several early morning meetings at The Egg and I, is experimenting with changing the time and location in an attempt to involve more residents. The next meeting is set for Thursday, Sept. 8 at noon at Heritage House, 1428 Jenkins Road.
A relatively new breakfast spot in East Brainerd is going whole hog - or at least whole pot.
The Egg & I on Gunbarrel Road, which opened in the summer of 2014, has transitioned to First Watch, and customers will be offered an entire pot of coffee - not just a cup - when they sit down for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
"You get a whole pot. That's the first step of our service, is bringing you a pot of coffee," said Nadim Jubran, one of the partners in the Knoxville, Tenn.-based franchise group, Capstone Concepts LLC.
In May 2015 the then-153-unit First Watch Restaurants Inc. bought the 114-unit The Egg & I chain to create a combined company with 267 restaurants in 26 states.
Meanwhile, Capstone Concepts is buying the Gunbarrel Road Egg & I from the First Watch corporation, Jubran said.
"I don't want people to think we're taking their beloved breakfast spot away, because we're putting in something that I think people will respond well to," he said. "We actually think that there are options at Egg & I that people like - that you can find at First Watch that are even better."
The Egg & I's employees are staying on to work at First Watch.
"All of the staff is staying," said Assistant Manager Laney McClaney. "We have slowly made some of our menu items change toward First Watch, so when they come in, it won't be such a crazy change. First Watch's menu is very similar to ours."
Lemon ricotta pancakes, quinoa bowls and fresh-squeezed juices will be some of the other offerings at Chattanooga's First Watch. The chain got its start in 1982 in Pacific Grove, Calif. It has the slogan, "Yeah, it's fresh," and it promises that everything is made to order.
Capstone Concepts already operates two First Watch restaurants in Knoxville, and Jubran reeled off some of the well-liked menu items there.
"The avocado toast is very popular, the chickichanga is very popular, and from an indulgent perspective, the Floridian French toast and the lemon ricotta pancakes are certainly up there. They're delicious," he said.
Capstone Concepts owns two Mr. Gatti's Pizza restaurants and another The Egg & I along with its three First Watch restaurants. It plans to open more First Watch restaurants here, Jubran said.
"We're looking to put two or three more in the Chattanooga area," he said.