Tim Aten Knows: Another Broken Egg Cafe returning to SWFL

Q: Do you know what’s going in the empty unit next to TD Bank near Freedom Square near the intersection of Collier and Tamiami? There’s a “Coming Soon” banner up. Thanks. – Walter Denny, Naples 

A: The first of at least four locations proposed in Southwest Florida for Another Broken Egg Cafe is targeted to open in August at a new retail spot, near the entrance into Freedom Square and Restaurant Row along Collier Boulevard just north of its intersection with U.S. 41 East. 

It’s not the first time in the Naples area for Another Broken Egg Cafe, a daytime restaurant concept with its corporate headquarters in Orlando. The breakfast-lunch chain had a restaurant operated by another franchisee for about five years in the former longtime location of The Clock Restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but it closed during the pandemic in 2020. 

The new Naples location will be the first of four that local franchisee Dillon Gruener plans in Collier and Lee counties. A second restaurant most likely will be in Lee County, but Gruener does not have specific locations yet to expand the brand here. He has toured a couple of sites in the Fort Myers area with his real estate broker. 

“I’m a new franchisee; I just signed on last May. Once I moved into the Naples-Estero area, I began looking for some cool sites for development,” Gruener said. “I own Lee County and Collier for development, so north of Cape Coral all the way down to Marco Island.” 

Gruener wants to make sure his first location is doing well before he launches a second one. 

“My development agreement is basically four stores in a five-year term,” he said. “I can be the judge if I want to keep building. I think there’s some really good opportunities to keep going after four, whether it’s six to 10 — it all depends how the market reacts to it.”  

The first Naples area location is targeted to open near the end of August, Gruener said. 

“I don’t have a final date yet,” he said. “We’re going for our CO [certificate of occupancy] here shortly. I’ve got a bunch of equipment coming in this week, and then, obviously, I have to hire everyone. I’m in training right now.” 

Gruener will be hiring about 40 people, which includes servers, bartenders, sous chefs and grill cooks. The staff will have an eight-day training period before the restaurant opens. 

The Naples restaurant at 6917 Collier Blvd., Suite 701, shares its freestanding building with TD Bank, which moved last year to that drive-thru branch from a temporary inline unit in the adjacent Freedom Square retail center. That Naples space was originally proposed for Maple Street Biscuit Co., a brunch eatery chain operated by Cracker Barrel. After Cracker Barrel’s public relations blowback last year when it attempted to change its classic logo and décor, the company halted development of its Maple Street Biscuit subsidiary, which will be converted to Belly Biscuit following the Louisville company’s acquisition of the concept this summer.  

Dining details 

Another Broken Egg Cafe features a chef-driven, Southern-inspired menu with signature dishes such as chicken and waffles, lemon-blueberry goat cheese pancakes and a Champagne lobster omelet. Its diverse menu caters to gluten-friendly, vegetarian and other dietary needs. 

“I personally love the cinnamon roll French toast. I like sweet stuff,” Gruener said. “We also have apple fritter French toast, too. The kids love it.” 

A full bar allows diners to enjoy a Bloody Mary, mimosa or other cocktails with brunch. 

“The full bar is huge. My cafe actually features an 18-seat bar. It’s massive in there,” Gruener said. “The front area of the restaurant is main dining. To the left is the big bar. In the back, I have an eight-top private dining area with two big chandeliers that come down. It looks great.”    

The 165-seat restaurant also has a patio for outdoor dining on the south side of the building. “It’s going to be a great patio,” Gruener said. “We’ve got 38 seats going on there, four large umbrellas, then we do have the partial overhang of the awning.” 

The restaurant will serve breakfast, brunch and lunch seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Another Broken Egg Cafe also plans to serve the community beyond its regular hours. 

“The cool thing is we do all types of catering and private events after hours, too,” Gruener said. “So, if a company or organization wants to have a Christmas party or they’re having a regional meeting, there’s an opportunity for them to come into our space. We can set up a full bar, their own custom menu and have their own party in our place, so there’s a good opportunity there, too.” 

In preparation for a franchisee role at Another Broken Egg Cafe, Gruener and his wife relocated last September from the Boston area to Southwest Florida. Personally involved with every facet of his business, Gruener will be a familiar face at his Naples restaurant.  

“I’ll pretty much be there every day up until I move into the second restaurant and so on and so forth after that,” he said. “So, I’ll be very hands-on for sure.” 

Gruener, 31, steadily climbed the management ranks at the Five Guys burger company for nearly 15 years, starting as a crew member when he was 16. He eventually oversaw seven stores as a district manager before moving to the corporate division, where he was a regional trainer for more than 60 restaurants in the Midwest. Then, he was promoted to a position as franchise business consultant throughout New England. 

“I’ve done a lot with franchising, overseeing businesses and people development, food safety and that fun stuff,” he said. “I got to a point in my career where it’s time to basically do it on my own. I had enough knowledge to start my own business and I got to a point where it’s time to keep growing.” 

The Tim Aten Knows weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at Tim.Aten@NaplesPress.com.