A new fast-casual breakfast sandwich restaurant with a colorful name is set to open in Midtown.
The cheekily named Effin Egg — a play on a vulgar expression familiar to fans of The Big Lebowski — is moving into the former Treat Dreams ice cream shop at 4160 Cass Ave., Detroit.
The brand was established in Florida in 2019 and has around 10 stores across the U.S. This is its first Michigan location.
The Detroit location’s owner Lucretia Willams, who worked as an executive in the auto industry and says she was looking to start a local business when the opportunity fell into her lap, as she describes it.
“I contacted the owner and just said, ‘Hey, I’m effin’ interested in Effin Eggs,’” she tells Metro Times.
Most of the restaurant’s menu revolves around eggs, with a variety of breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos available.
“It’s a twist on comfort food, in a way,” Willams says. “It’s very tasty, very delicious, as all food should be. We’re more interested in giving people high-quality, made-to-order breakfasts that taste just as good as any fine-dining, if you will, breakfast.”
Williams anticipates her customers will be largely made up of college students from nearby Wayne State University. She’ll be offering a coffee drink called the “Effin Warrior,” named after WSU’s mascot.
A variety of other espressos, lattes, and teas will also be available — what the chain calls “pot” drinks. (Continuing its theme of tongue-in-cheek language, the company’s website proclaims, “Potheads welcome.”) Williams says she also plans to cater to the young customer base by serving nonalcoholic mocktails “to appeal to their sense of almost grownish selves.”
It’s not all kid’s stuff, though; Williams plans to open by 6:30 a.m. daily so workers at the nearby Detroit Medical Center can also come in for a bite to eat before their shifts.
The restaurant will close at 3 p.m. except from Thursday through Saturday, when it will have a later shift from 7-11 p.m. Then, “we’re going to have breakfast all effin’ day,” Williams says.
The restaurant can seat 33 inside and another 20 on an outside patio.
“We’re trying to give [customers] the best of both worlds,” Williams says. “Everyone’s trying to do this thing, but fast-casual is in between where you do get to sit-down, you do get fresh cooked meals, but it’s not carrying the expense of having a large staff of servers and all that.”
Williams says she’s hoping to open by WSU’s homecoming game on Oct. 26. The restaurant is now hiring; more information is available at effineggdetroit.com.
