Meet Shannon Mee of Egg Plantation, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Mee.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
25 years ago Myself and Simon Mee got an amazing opportunity. Simon was a duel manager of two Starbucks in the San Fernando valley and i had just finished my masters degree at LMU when he got a flier for a restaurant equipment auction in Newhall. When Simon pulled up he recognized the location as the cute breakfast restaurant he and his uncle had been to 13 years prior on a trip over the pond from England to visit his uncle who lived in Valencia. The restaurant had been vacated by a family named the Gallegers so they could move back to Michigan after running the steak house for 5 years. Prior to Gallegers the restaurant was various different versions of a breakfast restaurant which started in 1973. Simon called me with a great idea, “Let’s sign the lease and open the breakfast place back up but with our twist”. So obviously we decided to follow the plan. AT first it was just him, myself and his best friend Matt Dart who worked at painting, cleaning, putting tables together, knocking down pony walls,……. And finally we opened the doors in September 2000.
The first few months were the three of us plus a server we contacted from the original breakfast restaurant and one of the original cooks. We hustled. Worked 14 hour days seven days a week until we could hire more staff. As we added staff we started to get systems in place. Policies and procedures followed and more guests started to come.
I remember the first time we could take a vacation and left the restaurant with two of our most trusted servers as shift leads. We went camping for two days while “our baby” was being watched for the first time. That was four years into the business. We have always allowed for input from guests and staff and often implemented the ideas into what is now a days a front terrace, side patio, and our employee favorites menu.
We pride ourselves on putting guests first and making food that we are proud of and serve our own family. Over the years we have sourced ingredients that would make the best products. From our coffee to our bacon and everything in between. We pride ourselves on serving fresh cooked, from scratch food made of locally sourced superior ingredients. All of our soups our made in house from scratch, our hollandaise, every egg is cracked fresh to make each omelet and lastly, our full liquor license acquired from Gallegers has made the restaurant what it is today.
I believe that our ability to pivot and quickly add, delete, or change things that were needed has kept us going through multiple trying times. From 2008 recession to the covid pandemic and in the last two years inflation, we have had the ability to make the necessary changes needed for survival. It is our ability to think outside the box that I attribute to helping us pivot.
Our staff are like family. Some have been with us for 25 years and we do not have much turn over. This allows for guests to bond with their server and feel like they are walking into a house for a home cooked meal.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Covered in the previous text
But: recession, covid pandemic, inflation, and typical restaurant bumps. Equipment breaking in the middle of a rush or a no show of a staff member (although rare),

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.eggplantation.com
• Instagram: egg_plantation_restaurant
• Facebook: Egg Plantation