South Carolina breakfast-brunch chain rapidly expands in region

Eggs Up Grill, a South Carolina-based breakfast-brunch-lunch chain, is growing in the region with its second Tampa Bay area location, this one in Clearwater. 

Scheduled to open this summer, the Clearwater spot is at 1620 N. McMullen Booth Road in the Bayside Bridge Plaza, according to a statement. It’s also the first Eggs Up Grill for entrepreneurs, franchise partners, and brothers John and Anthony Corso. The agreement is part of Eggs Up Grill’s continued expansion in the state, with new locations opening in Orlando, Melbourne and Fort Myers in 2024, the release adds.

John Corso has been an architect and construction manager for the past 25 years and has lived in the Tampa Bay area for more than two decades. Anthony has been in the insurance industry for the past 25 years, working in sales, risk management and consulting; he will operate the restaurant. The brothers grew up slicing meats in their father’s butcher shop and deli in Brooklyn, New York, “and have always had a love of entrepreneurship and the restaurant industry,” the release states. 

“As customers, we both loved the food, décor, atmosphere and energy of Eggs Up Grill. Once we realized it was a franchise, and that there were such limited choices for traditional, American breakfast done well in the Clearwater area, we knew it was the perfect fit for us,” says Anthony Corso in the release. 

The Clearwater restaurant is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, with dine-in, online ordering, takeout, catering and delivery options available. The 2,950-square-foot restaurant has indoor seating for 134 people. 

Eggs Up Grill has another Tampa Bay area location, in Riverview, on U.S. 301. 

Founded in Pawleys Island, South Carolina-based Eggs Up Grill has 73 locations in operation, with more than 100 under development or committed to open this decade. It is in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi and soon entering Ohio. The brand’s signature menu items include the founder’s recipe corned beef hash with potatoes, onions and special spices, as well as made-to-order omelets, buttery, grilled blueberry muffins, classic breakfast dishes and lunch selections including burgers, melts, salads and more. Eggs Up Grill has been ranked the No. 1 breakfast franchise by Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 three years in a row,