VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Egg Bistro has opened another restaurant.
The popular breakfast and lunch diner now has three locations: Greenbrier in Chesapeake, Strawbridge in Virginia Beach, and now, Haygood in Virginia Beach. The grand opening of the 1033 Independence Boulevard location was held on Monday morning.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer came to the ribbon-cutting and was excited to see a local business thriving.
“On weekends, sometimes people wait an hour to get in because it’s worth it,” said Mayor Dyer. “You know, it’s the mark of a good restaurant with good food and reasonable prices, but it’s also the spirit of anywhere you go. The employees are so warm and welcoming. This is what we need during a tough time.”
Mike Touhey says he and his business partner, Doug Stumpf, grew up in the area and are excited to open another location at Haygood.
“Great shopping center, super busy. Just what we need,” commented Touhey.
The restaurant chain did have a location in Suffolk, but they decided to close it last year. Touhey said it wasn’t pandemic-related; rather, it was issues with the facility.
Touhey said like many other restaurants, they are hiring. In fact, they have openings for all positions at all three locations. He explained that over the past year, competing with unemployment benefits has been tough.
“Staffing is the biggest challenge for any restaurant nowadays all across the country,” Touhey said. “It’s hard to get people to come to work right now, it really is. We’re trying to be competitive."
He said one thing people like about working at The Egg Bistro is the hours since they’re only open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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“Our quality of life is great because we’re not open at night. So, anyone looking to have their nights off, this is a great place for them to work.”
As part of the grand opening, The Egg Bistro is giving away breakfast for a year – one breakfast weekly for 52 weeks. They will choose a winner from their Facebook page.
