It’s a common sight in Old Town: One neighbor moves out, another moves in. Or, more accurately in this case, another drives in. With Five Guys’ relocation to a larger space on King Street, the burger-flipper’s original space advertised a vacancy, and it didn’t take long to find a taker.
Enter Meggrolls, a longtime food truck business finally settling into its first brick-and-mortar space. And owner Megg Baroody is ready to set up shop at the Fayette Street location — and is aiming for an April grand opening.
“It’s been very exciting; it’s been kind of a whirlwind,” Baroody said. “This is definitely a creative concept first and then became a business, slowly but surely.”
Meggrolls’ specialty is — as one might expect — gourmet eggrolls in a variety of flavors and styles. The company, which started about seven years ago, has steadily grown in popularity and in recent times has become a catering powerhouse as well as a tried-and-true food truck. The next step was clear: It was time to expand to a larger kitchen and a café space.
And the former Five Guys restaurant, Baroody said, couldn’t have been a better fit for the company’s Old Town presence.
“We are very lucky that the space is already set up as a quick-service restaurant. They’re actually leaving a lot of their equipment behind and we’re lucky that it’s not just mom-and-pop equipment, it’s Five Guys Corporate equipment. We trust them that they’re leaving us with stuff that’s in great shape, and we’re looking forward to being able to get in the space, give it a cosmetic facelift, and personalize it to what we think Meggrolls is all about” — beachy blues and whitewashed wood, she said. “Those are things that have been in my head for years and I couldn’t wait to turn it into a reality.”
Visitors to Meggrolls’ permanent location will see plenty of familiar menu items as well as some additions to the repertoire. Whereas the food truck sported three different Meggrolls at any given time, Baroody says the café will offer more straight out of the gate.
“We’ll have a menu of five to six standard Meggrolls that will always be on the menu, and then we will have a rotating menu with one to two Meggrolls that will be seasonal, or weekly, or based on the holidays,” she said.
And the eggrolls won’t stand alone on the menu. Baroody is planning several varities of slaws “that are the perfect accompaniment to a crispy indulgent Meggroll,” she said. Also on the docket: French fries, because “Who doesn’t love French fries?”
But by design, Meggroll’s new location will keep its signature offering as the star of the show. It’s what started everything years ago and will maintain its place at the top of the heap, Baroody said.
“The Meggroll has been the main event since the beginning, so we kind of want to build the menu around that crispy fried deliciousness,” she said.
If You Go
Meggrolls, 107 N. Fayette St.
Grand opening: April 2017.
Non-Meggroll menu item of note: White chicken chili. “I want people to say, ‘Hey, I might not be in the mood for a Meggroll today, but man I love that chili,” says owner Megg Baroody.
Hope Nelson owns and operates the Kitchen Recessionista blog, located at www.kitchenrecessionista.com. Email her any time at hope@kitchenrecessionista.com.