Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Hagemann and Jessica Earick.
Hi Kristina and Jessica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Chef Jessica – Owner/Executive Chef/The “Lil” Sister “How our Past Manifested into our Present”
Kristina and I grew up in the quaint little town of Bellefontaine, Ohio in a time when you came home once the streetlights came on, where we were nestled within blocks of our best friends, schools, and immediate family, having no idea what wonderful adventures awaited us.
At 20 years old, I followed my big sis to San Diego, CA where my love of food unfolded. I was fortunate enough to have worked under two of the best chefs in SD at award-winning restaurants. From learning how to filet fish caught that morning to the importance of using sustainable ingredients, as well as layering textures and flavors to applying art and design to each dish, I knew I had found an industry that spoke to me in so many ways.
Throughout multiple jobs over the last 20 years, there was always one constant, my sister Kristina. We have worked at nearly every job together, which has helped us to develop a management style that “promotes empathy and compassion to all, encourages daily laughter, and inspires one another to become our best selves at work and at home through positive reinforcement, showing genuine appreciation in our words and our actions, all while practicing servant leadership”, something we felt was lacking in our beloved but harsh industry. We have built Eggmann’s Eatery around that exact philosophy and truly believe it provides an atmosphere that our teammates are excited to come into every day and a place where our guests feel welcomed and cared about from the moment they enter our doors.
So, while my passion may lie with food, it’s the everyday encouragement that comes from working with our amazing team as well as the guests that bless us with their continued support, whether through regular dining, caterings or attending our specialty dinners.
We may only be 3 years in but know there is so much more on the horizon, and are excited to share that passion with as many people as possible!“
Kristina – Owner/General Manager/The “MUCH Older Sister”
“Our Business is Built on Passion, Persistence and a Little Bit of Insanity”
We were sitting around the kitchen counter in September of 2018, exchanging stories of not feeling valued or appreciated at different jobs we’ve had over the last 25 years and how we would like to do it differently. That’s when the idea of opening our own restaurant became more than just another passing conversation. It had been something we had discussed for years, but we never put any real action or thought into developing.
This time was different though; it felt like the right time in our lives to take the leap, so we gave ourselves a goal of 1 year to write a business plan, find investors and open our own concept, Eggmann’s Eatery
“A Finer Diner.”
We worked diligently for months, creating our 40-page business plan that captured information on other local restaurants, highlighted our mission statement, thoughtfully defined our philosophy and vision, explained future goals, described in detail all of the financials needed, and included several other supporting documents that would prove that “we know what we are doing”; better known as
“Selling Our Why” to potential investors. Then March of 2019 brought us Covid and our plan to open our own restaurant came to a screeching halt as we watched so many of our most beloved restaurants across the U.S. permanently close their doors.
Fast forward two months to May of 2019, we both lose our jobs within the same company…of course.
Now this is definitely not the time to open a restaurant . . . or is it? A sane person would have told you it absolutely was NOT the right time. No one was going out to restaurants, let alone investing in them! But this industry doesn’t make you sane, it makes you passionate.
With potential investors nervous about the climate of our industry, we had to change our entire approach. Within 24 hours of losing our jobs we were sitting in a meeting to rent space for our restaurant in our tiny little village of Centerburg, Ohio. We decided to utilize an already equipped kitchen space, find mugs and dishes at local garage sales, buy chairs, booths, and tables from another restaurant that went out of business, and vowed that we would continue to reinvest in our idea as we gained revenue.
Seriously though… this is a completely insane plan!
However, we truly believe that having a business partner who shares the same vision and philosophy, who has an unapparelled work ethic, and whose passion fuels their drive is why we have made it this far.
We are sisters, best friends, and business partners.
It’s not always easy, but it is undoubtedly worth all of the sacrifices and work!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Along the way, I have failed numerous times in different facets of my life, but in that, I have learned that success does not come without failure. Learning from our failures is a concept I try to instill in my teammates. I allow myself to accept failure as long as I push myself to learn and thrive from each occurrence.” – Jessica
The first two years brought all of the challenges and struggles of being a small business owner. No days off, constantly short-staffed, rising food costs, more covid spikes, prep coolers going out in the middle of the night, kitchen fires, moving locations, losing heat in the dead of winter, spoiled food due to power outages, and the list goes on and on and on. But here we are, standing tall, moving through year 3 as an established business that continues to grow and flourish after everything that has been thrown at us. – Kristina
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about (Eggtreme Sisters LLC dba) Eggmann’s Eatery “A Finer Diner’?
“Jessica and Kristina toast to a combined 45-plus years of being on a roll in the restaurant industry. You might even say it’s their jam. They are proud to not only be eggtreme sisters but compatible coworkers, teammates, and servant leaders. Both pride themselves on eggsceptional customer service and their eggspansive knowledge of this challenging industry. Their passion for food has led them on an eggsploration of flavors, searching for the perfect balance between traditional breakfast favorites and the eggspanive global profiles that will be sure to leave you baconing for more. If you think we’re yolking, we promise we’ve only begun to crack the surface.”
Eggmann’s Eatery’s “Eggstraodinary Gift Shop”
We created a retail space in our restaurant that allows local vendors an area to showcase their handmade goods without the overhead of renting their own space or paying high percentages that Etsy and Amazon would charge. Currently, our “Eggstraordinary Gift Shop” features soy candles, melting waxes, wooden spoons, charcuterie boards, paintings, honey, coffee, t-shirts, hats, birdhouses, handmade greeting cards, and our personal favorite our young entrepreneur section that highlights kids ranging from 8 to 14 years old who have come in, supplied samples and given eggstraodinary sales pitches to get their products in our store. Their vision, mission, and passion are inspiring to say the least, and we are humbled that they want to partner with us to sell their creative dreams.
What makes you happy?
Happiness is waking up every day, doing what we love, where we live, and being able to do it together ~The Sisters~
Pricing:
- $10 – $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eggmannseatery.com/
- Instagram: @eggmannseatery
- Facebook: @EggmannsEatery
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/eggmanns-eatery-centerburg
