By Becky Billingsley

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, Pawleys Island – In 1997 when Chris and Pat Skodras opened the first Grand Strand Eggs Up Grill Chris said his ultimate goal was to franchise the concept, and he has done that so well his daughter is now a manager in the family business.

Chris Skodras has always been a people person who enjoys chatting with customers and going out of his way to make them feel welcome with various promotions. One of his most famous attention-getters is that he has always kept track of how many eggs are sold at Eggs Up, and the count is now over 6 million among the five locations in Pawleys Island, Surfside Beach, Conway, Myrtle Beach and Mount Pleasant.

The Mount Pleasant location opened a few days ago, and it marks Skodras’ first foray outside the Grand Strand. A sixth location is scheduled to soon open at 2520 U.S. 17 Business S. in Garden City, in the former location of Garden City Beach Café.

Another customer-pleaser is maps in the restaurants where guests are welcome to stick colored pins indicating their hometowns. The map at the Pawleys Island Eggs Up is crusted with colors up and down the East Coast and to a lesser degree across the rest of the U.S.

The Pawleys Island restaurant at 115 Willbrook Blvd. is also where Skodras’ daughter, Tanya Ladd, is continuing the family business tradition as the front of house manager. She says her father’s attitude toward his job made her want to follow his path.

“He loves it,” Ladd said recently at the restaurant. “He always says, ‘I get to go to work today!’ and I like that.”

Ladd, who started working for her father at age 13, says she also loves being around customers and serving food. She is married and has a baby, and working at Eggs Up Grill is also appealing to her and other parents because of the hours, which are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We love our staff,” she said. “Our staff makes us who we are. They’re like a family, and we help each other out. We like to have young mothers apply to work with us, because our hours fit into a parent’s life. And we want them for the long haul. We have one employee who has been with us for seven years, and another for nine years.”

Now the Pawleys Island location needs more servers, and soon the Garden City Beach spot will need to be staffed. Toward that goal, a job fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 at the Pawleys Island restaurant.

Eggs Up Grill offers traditional breakfast dishes including Eggs Benedict, waffles, pancakes, French toast, Corned Beef Hash, egg plates, signature omelets and breakfast sandwiches. Both breakfast and lunch are served the entire time the restaurant is open, so more options include salads, Fruit & Yogurt Parfait, burgers, sandwiches and soups.

If one part of a breakfast sounds appealing paired with a lunch item, that’s okay. The staff is happy to serve an Egg Salad Sandwich with FarmLand Fries (like home fries) or a cup of soup with a side of grits.

It’s all part of that Skodras friendliness, which has helped turn a concept into a franchise. Learn more about Eggs Up Grill and see the entire menu at http://www.eggsupgrill.com/.