EGGSPECTATION SIGNS LEASE AT METRO CENTRE AT OWINGS MILLS FOR INAUGURAL RESTAURANT LOCATION IN BALTIMORE COUNTY

Eggspectation, a Montreal, Canada-based sit-down restaurant chain, has signed a lease with Owings Mills Transit, LLC for 5,582 square feet of space within Metro Centre at Owings Mills, a new Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) encircling the Owings Mills Metro Station in northwest Baltimore County. This is the inaugural Baltimore County location for the restaurant concept that will be situated within the ground-level retail space located at the intersection of Grand Central Avenue and Grand Junction Lane, and is directly off the Interstate 795 Owings Mills exit.

Metro Centre at Owings Mills is being developed by Owings Mills Transit, LLC and managed by David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd. Keith Barnett and Brad Berzins of KLNB Retail are spearheading the retail leasing efforts for the project. Eggspectation plans to open at Metro Centre in early 2015.

The restaurant, which is recognized by its offering of nearly 60 different breakfast entrées, joins Times Square Kitchen, Fractured Prune and Subway as the first wave of restaurants to announce its intentions to operate in the Transit-Oriented Development. A number of complementary boutiques, shops, service-related retailers and additional restaurants are nearing the completion of lease negotiations and will be announced shortly.

Eggspectation, which operates or franchises twenty locations, including five in the Washingon-Baltimore region, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with a diverse menu that emphasizes its breakfast items, but are available throughout all hours of the day. The breakfast selections range from lobster eggs benedict to veggie omelet to strawberry pancakes and brioche French toast and also include a line of “Breakfast Bites” including grilled breakfast burritos. The early-morning menu also features a juice bar with smoothie variations, an Espresso Bar and specialty coffees, as well as fruit and yogurt. Eggspectation has also developed a specialty Lyonnaise-style potato item for breakfast that is cooked with caramelized onions, fresh herbs and specialty ingredients.

The brunch, lunch and small dish menu selections feature ten different salad varieties, as well as an assortment of sandwiches and crepes. Dinner items are differentiated by a range of pasta dishes, special Eggsecutive burgers and traditional favorites such as crab cakes, chicken entrées, grilled salmon and steak.

“When searching for our first location in the Baltimore County area, we immediately recognized the emergence of Metro Centre at Owings Mills as the new town center and central gathering spot in this marketplace,” explained Enzo Renda, Chief Executive Officer of Eggspectation Restaurants, LLC. “This new mixed-use project offered every ingredient crucial to our long-term success including the presence of a 24/7 built-in consumer audience, one-of-a-kind destination elements in the library and college and placement along the Baltimore metro rail system that provides convenient transportation options for patrons, as well as our employees.”

Metro Centre at Owings Mills currently consists of two five-story buildings, cumulatively containing 56,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 240 market-rate apartment homes on the upper four floors. The TOD’s first amenity, a 120,000 square foot building housing the largest branch of the Baltimore County Public Library and a new satellite location of the Community College of Baltimore opened this spring. Construction is expected to begin soon on a new four-story, 200,000 square foot Class “A” office building, which represents the inaugural phase of the 1.2 million square foot office component of the TOD.

“We have remained extremely selective in our choice of anchor retailers for Metro Centre at Owings Mills, and believe Eggspectation represents a game-changer for the Transit-Oriented Development,” explained Howard Brown, Chairman of David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd. “They bring a proven formula and track record of success to our retail mix, and are particularly proficient in building consumer loyalty and attracting customers to all three meal times. We foresee Eggspectation quickly becoming a popular destination for early-morning business meetings, lunches for nearby employees and residents and a regular gathering spots for area families.”

Metro Centre at Owings Mills is designed to support more than 1.2 million square feet of Class “A” office space; 200,000 square feet of complementary retail space; 1700 residential units; educational facilities totaling 120,000 square feet and a hospitality component offering up to 250 rooms.

The project is positioned on a 45-acre parcel of land near the intersection of Interstate 795 and Painters Mill Road, with direct access to Exit 4 (Owings Mills Boulevard) of the Northwest Expressway and the Owings Mills metro stop. Owings Mills is one of Baltimore County’s two designated growth areas.

Approximately 4000 people utilize the Owings Mills Metro station daily. In addition, more than 40,000 visitors frequent the Public Library each month and nearly 10,000 students and faculty members attend the Community College of Baltimore on a monthly basis.

More than 160,000 consumers reside within a five-mile radius of Metro Centre at Owings Mills, with an average household income exceeding 85,000. In addition, more than 65,000 employees work on a daily basis within this radius. More than 110,000 vehicles pass the site each day from Interstate 795 and 4,100 commuters board the Owings Mills Metro Stop each workday. The downtown business district of Baltimore City can be accessed in approximately 20 minutes from the project.

There are Eggspectation restaurants operating in the Ellicott City area of Howard County, another in Silver Spring in Montgomery County and three locations in Northern Virginia. The franchise also maintains ten locations in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, three in India and one in Dubai.

“Restaurants increasingly function as destination retailers for mixed-use projects and, in many cases, form the distinct personality of the development,” explained Keith Barnett of KLNB Retail. “Eggspectation is an extremely popular restaurant that excels in a highly-competitive Howard County environment and, our research shows, will fill an important gap in the Baltimore County marketplace. The developer and KLNB Retail share a vision for making Metro Centre at Owings Mills a first-class shopping dining destination drawing consumers from a radius exceeding twenty miles, while serving as an excellent and convenient option for the densely-populated residential and professional community in the immediate area.”

David S. Brown Enterprises, LTD., founded in 1933 and headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, is a full-service real estate company providing leasing, sales and management services. For additional information, visit www.davidsbrown.com