He Left TGI Fridays to Run a Small Breakfast Franchise. Now It’s the Biggest in the Country.

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Things are looking sunny side up at Eggs Up Grill. The breakfast franchise, founded in 1997 in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, has surpassed 110 locations and now claims the title of largest actively franchising breakfast brand in the country, according to FSR Magazine.

Much of the growth has come under the watch of CEO Ricky Richardson, who left his post as president and COO of TGI Fridays in 2018 to take the top spot at Eggs Up Grill. Since his arrival, the egg emporium, which specializes in traditional southern fare like chicken-fried steak and eggs and chicken and waffles, has quadrupled in size and posted 21 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth.

The recipe behind the success has been driven by three moves: a new loyalty program called the Smile Society, a revamped kitchen design built to speed up service and a financing partnership with Apple Pie Capital that makes it easier for franchisees to open additional locations. Also, Eggs Up Grill follows a simple schedule — breakfast and lunch only, one shift, no dinner — that appears to be working: 90-plus additional stores are already in development.