Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Wild Eggs breakfast and brunch chain plans to double its presence in central Indiana by the end of 2024, beginning with a new location in Avon.
The Louisville-based company will open a restaurant at 9769 E. U.S. 36, taking over a 4,000-square-foot space previously occupied by Denny’s and Jack in the Box restaurants.
Wild Eggs CEO Andy Abbajay told the IBJ he expects the Avon location will open this summer. The company also is scouting sites for a Greenwood restaurant and is looking at other communities for another eatery.
The three projected restaurants would join three Wild Eggs locations that opened in central Indiana in 2016: 1438 W. Main St. in Carmel, 13272 Market Square Drive in Fishers and 314 N. Delaware St. in downtown Indianapolis.
Abbajay became the company’s CEO after Miami-based investment group PG Growth Opportunities Fund purchased Wild Eggs in 2023. He said adding stores in parts of the metropolitan area that aren’t the northern suburbs or downtown Indianapolis is a logical step for the company.
“Of course, you don’t immediately start opening stores,” Abbajay said. “You make sure you have the right training platforms and you have to work on the resources. We have a team in place to open two stores in the blink of an eye. We’re excited about the groundwork being laid to get in here.”
Founded in 2007, Wild Eggs presently has 15 locations in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.
Although Abbajay said Wild Eggs is ramping up a franchising program, the future central Indiana locations will be company restaurants.
The CEO said his goal is for Wild Eggs to grow to 45 restaurants in the United States.
In contrast to an era when restaurant owners relied on what Abbajay described as a “gut feeling” to place new locations, technology allows data collection related to demographics and income levels when selecting sites.
“We want to grow with the right locations and right franchisees or company stores,” he said. “We want to make sure that fits our image and what Wild Eggs stands for.”
The restaurants in Carmel, Fishers and Indianapolis are open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Wild Eggs menu includes breakfast staples—pancakes, waffles, french toast and a lengthy list of egg entrees. The restaurant also offers biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls and crepes. The lunch menu features salads and sandwiches.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
It seems like a bad move. Our market is already saturated with breakfast and lunch places, and many of them are locally owned and do quite well.