Eggs Up Grill bringing breakfast to Winter Garden

A new breakfast option is coming to Winter Garden this summer with the opening of Eggs up Grill, and the owners are eager to meet new customers who they hope will become friends.

This is the first restaurant venture for Noel and Annie Arriola, who will serve breakfast, brunch and lunch daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will be located in the West Point Commons Shopping Center, 13750 W. Colonial Drive, at County Road 535.

The Arriolas, who were MetroWest residents for 17 years before moving to Ocoee, chose Winter Garden for the restaurant because of its vibe. They are regulars at downtown Plant Street businesses, as are their two adult children, and their church is near their restaurant — so they spend a great deal of time in the city.

“Probably 10 years ago, we were eating at a breakfast place in Virginia, and I was telling my wife, ‘You know, this would be a great thing to do later in our life,’” Noel Arriola said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

And it’s quite a change from his 30-year career in technology and her 30 years in nursing.

“When we discovered Eggs Up Grill, we knew right away it was a great match for us,” Noel Arriola said. “We truly align with the company’s core values of serving the community where you work and live. It’s more than just opening a restaurant for us. It’s the fulfillment of getting to know our neighbors, feeding them great food and finding ways to support them.”   

The Arriolas liked the company’s attention to community.

“We don’t really call ourselves franchisees; we’re owner operators,” Noel Arriola said. “You have (more of an) attachment to the customers when you’re the owner. You really care for the place. Our motto is ‘Making Friends Out of Guests.’”

The owners said want to create a place for locals to enjoy a meal and relax. And while they will rely on the standard Eggs Up Grill menu, they have added a few specialty items that have Florida-inspired flavors.

Eggs Up Grill offers menu items including breakfast sandwiches, benedicts, omelets, pancakes, waffles, French toast, classic breakfast entrees, home-fry bowls and muffins. There are also lunch choices such as burgers, sandwiches, wraps and salads. Visit eggsupgrill.com for the full menu.

The restaurant has a seating capacity of 125 but the Arriolas have chosen to limit it to 90 seats for now. It will have an automated menu system, and their goal is to serve the people within a 15-minute window after they’ve placed their order.

“Our servers are trained to be very customer-service oriented,” Noel Arriola said. “If you were to rate your priorities, service is actually at the top of our list. We try to make friends out of guests. We try to know their names so when they come back … hopefully we’ll call them friends. It’s nice from that perspective that you’re not only running a business but you’re getting to know people.”

The new eatery will be focused on serving the community. The Arriolas look forward to supporting the charitable and ministry efforts of their home church, as well as schools in the area.  

“We’re just blessed,” Noel Arriola said. “Our two children have their own business. Healthwise, we’ve been healthy. And this way we’re able to give back. … From that perspective, EUG really aligns with what we want to do, which is important to me.

“I feel like if you are actually taking care of the guests, everything else will follow,” he said. “My job is basically to make sure the guests are taken care of.”

The restaurant is under construction and expected to open in July.

Originally founded in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, by restaurateur Chris Skodras, Eggs Up Grill now has 46 locations and is headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

“Eggs Up is all about neighbors serving neighbors,” Noel Arriola said. “The restaurant is also close to a great mix of shopping and culture and we look forward to being right in the heart of the city’s growth explosion.”