Another Broken Egg eatery ready to hatch on Siesta Key

A longtime Siesta Key breakfast hotspot is set to reopen March 31 under new management — and a slightly different name.

Another Broken Egg Cafe, part of a Louisiana-based chain comprising 33 restaurants, is set to reopen on the former site of The Broken Egg Cafe at 140 Avenida Messina in the Siesta Village. Despite the similar names, the two restaurants are not affiliated.

The Broken Egg Cafe originally had locations on Siesta Key, Clark Road and Lakewood Ranch. The Siesta Key location, opened in 1984, was the franchise’s standard bearer and a favorite dining spot for Siesta residents as well as famed basketball coach and commentator Dick Vitale (a Lakewood Ranch resident), who later frequented the Lakewood Ranch location when it opened in 2010.

Bob Kirscher, the Sarasota-based chain’s owner, sold the Siesta Key and Lakewood Ranch locations in November to Double R Restaurant Group, which operates the Another Broken Egg franchise. Kirscher sold his Clark Road restaurant to that location’s manager, Dawn Hair. Hair now operates the restaurant, located at 4031 Clark Road, under its original name. The restaurant’s website, however, includes a disclaimer: “Not affiliated with Another Broken Egg.”

Stuart Ottinger, chief operating officer for Double R Restaurant Group, said the new restaurant will pay homage to the original Broken Egg.

“Obviously it’s been a big part of the community for many years,” Ottinger said. “It’s still the Siesta Beach feel, but we took it up a notch.”

Ottinger added that, although the menu will change, The Broken Egg’s cheesy hashbrowns — a local favorite — will still be on the menu.

“They were famous for the potatoes, and that’s something we'll incorporate,” Ottinger said. “We’re in this location for the long haul.”

Another Broken Egg Café is part of a chain of 33 restaurants across the southeast United States, California and Indiana. Ron Green founded the first restaurant in the chain in 1996 in Old Mandeville, La. In addition to the Siesta Key location, Another Broken Egg Café will also be opening April 7 at the former Broken Egg location in Lakewood Ranch.

Ottinger said the Siesta Key restaurant will likely hire about 30 employees from Sarasota County.

The Siesta Key location will hold a series of fundraising events to benefit local nonprofits in the run up to its official March 31 opening. Fundraising events will also be held at the Lakewood Ranch location prior to its opening.

Both locations have been closed since November for renovations, which matched the appearance of the new locations to the rest of the chain.

“We totally gutted and renovated the whole restaurant,” Ottinger said, referring to the Siesta Key location.
Asked if he had reached out to Vitale, and if the basketball legend would continue to frequent the restaurants, Ottinger said: “We'll continue to sell Dick Vitale memorabilia; we will have a table waiting for him daily and welcome him back at our restaurant. We hope he becomes a part of our family again.”

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]