Former Egg & I Restaurant Becomes Family-Owned Stacks

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Stacks Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch officially opened July 30 at 222 Dixie Highway. The former Egg & I restaurant remains under the same ownership but is no longer affiliated with the corporate Egg & I Restaurants.

“We just had a simple name change,” General Manager Nayel Salah said of The Egg & I rebranding as Stacks. “The Egg & I was a corporate restaurant and after our contract ended, we became simply family-owned.”

The menu has also changed as part of the rebrand. “As you can probably tell by the name, we are heavily pancake-based and have so many delicious pancake specialties, and take pride in our tasty and fluffy pancakes,” Salah said.

The new menu offers a variety of egg-based options, sandwiches, skillets and healthy choices. Early Google reviews are positive, citing a friendly staff and excellent options from omelettes to pancakes. Stacks is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, but opens at 7 a.m. on weekends. Delivery is offered via sites like Doordash and Grubhub.

“We are really grateful for our time and experience with the Egg and I, but are also super excited to have our spin on things and be able to rebrand as Stacks,” Salah said, noting a decline in local and regular customers after the Egg & I went corporate. “We still saw a lot of out-of-town customers, and some of the locals, but there was a definite decline.”

Salah said his goal is to bring back local customers, especially by offering daily discounts to seniors, teachers, veterans and police officers.

“We are extremely proud of the community we're located in,” he said. “I feel like the customers I've met from the area are some of the most hard-working, dedicated and community-oriented people I have ever met in the many years I've spent working in restaurants. I'd love to see an increase in the community members we serve. I think people like supporting family-owned family businesses in their community. I know we do. Our goal is to serve the great people of Chicago Heights with fast and friendly service, and hot and delicious food they deserve for all the work they put back into our community.”