Creston couple gets crackin’

When the Elliotts moved to Creston in 2017, they had a dream. They wanted to open their own breakfast food truck. Five years later, their dream has changed.

Instead of taking the breakfast world by wheels, they’ve gone for brick and mortar. “Once we saw this space open up, it clicked - this is a good idea,” said Ryan Elliott, 31. “We always just wanted to do take out anyway. This is the perfect spot.” The space in question is 509 W Taylor St. where Little Caesars was located until they shut down October 2021.

Beggin’ for an Eggin’ isn’t your regular breakfast restaurant. Their mission statement is “We’re here to change the narrative that breakfast needs to be consumed in the morning by offering fast, fresh and healthy breakfast options for lunch and dinner.”

“We’ll do online ordering and we want to partner with DoorDash since they are around here now,” said Bre Elliott, 31. “The drive-thru will be nice in the winter. If it’s too cold, just drive through, I’ll help you.”

Bre said since COVID forced a shutdown of dining in, takeout has taken off in the restaurant industry. “There’s more people getting takeout now even after the rush of COVID,” she said. “It’s more convenient.”

Ryan and Bre both do CrossFit which they say has opened their eyes to the need for quick, healthy options in town. “This town doesn’t have a lot of healthy food to offer in takeout. It’s a lot of fast food, a lot of fryer food. Even at sit down restaurants,” Ryan said. “Our only fried food will be potatoes. Other than that, it’s going to be freshly cooked. Even all our vegetables aren’t going to come in pre-sliced, we’re going to slice them up ourselves.”

Ryan said the menu will be mostly egg-focused with items like breakfast sandwiches, burritos, tacos, omelettes and more. “There’s also going to be a s’mores parfait,” Bre added. “Because sometimes you do need a cheat day.”

Between the two of them, the Elliotts have about 20 years of experience in restaurant management and almost 30 years experience in the food industry. Most recently, the two just finished five years working as managers at Mario’s Sports Bar & Grill in Creston. Bre said Mario was very supportive of them pursuing their dreams. “I was more upset than Mario was.”

While some married couples wouldn’t want to be stuck in a hot kitchen with their spouse all day, the Elliots said it’s all they know. “When we bought this space, we always wanted it to be just us,” Bre said. “We’ve done restaurants since we’ve known each other. That’s how we met anyway.”

“She’s annoying, but I put up with it,” Ryan laughed. “We’ll just turn up the music a little bit.”

“What’s that? I can’t hear you!” Bre joked.

The soft opening is scheduled for end of July with their cold menu offerings being available. In order to serve their hot menu items, the hood vent needs to be replaced. “They have to take that out, take out the wall, fire proof it, put in a whole new exhaust,” Bre said. Supply chain issues has caused a back up on getting the product in, but the couple is hopeful for it to be fast.

“We’ll have parfaits, acai bowls, smoothies, bottled drinks, everything cold - muffins, protein bars and breakfast bars,” Bre said. “I have developed a recipe for homemade protein bars that’s really delicious.”

Their anticipated hours will be 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sundays.

“I think it’s better too to have it later on for the college kids,” Bre said. “They don’t have to wake up early, they can get it later on. Moms on the go hauling kids around can drive through.”

Not only does the couple prioritize healthy, quick options, but they also want to be conscious of their environmental impact. “My goal is to have sustainable to-go stuff like biodegradable to-go cups and food containers,” Bre said. “It’s a big impact on our environment to use Styrofoam.” They also plan to look at offering a small discount to customers that opt out of a bag.

“I’m most excited to be working for ourselves,” Bre said. “To be able to put in the effort and care for something that’s actually ours. To be able to call it ours.”