The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CRAZY EGG CAFE FINDS NEW HOME
Owners re-open in new spot in Willoughby
As the Crazy Egg Cafe’s doors closed in Willowick, another was opened for Mary Gorse and Oscar Medina, her husband.
“We started in 2014 and we were (in Willowick) for six years,” said Gorse. “Then, our lease was up, (the coronavirus) hit. We decided we needed to downsize because we were getting busy and workers were hard to come by.”
Gorse said she and Medina were eyeing something they would be able to handle themselves. When Erie Street in Willoughby was under construction, Medina drove by what is now the Crazy Egg Cafe’s new location at 4082 Clark Ave.
“He said, ‘There’s a place. It looks like a little storefront that was available,’ “Gorse recalled. “I cried because my other restaurant was perfectly clean. We had it the way we wanted it and this needed a lot of tender, loving care.”
“I want them to feel like it’s a home. If there’s an older woman and she’s by herself — it’s hard to go out to eat by yourself. Make conversation, ask them how they’re doing, listen to them. I want everyone to feel like a family here.”
— Co-owner Mary Gorse
Since then, the location was gutted and updated, and officially opened for business on Feb. 16. For Gorse, she is in familiar territory.
“We live in Willoughby, I’ve grown up in Willoughby Hills, I went to Willoughby South, so this is my stomping ground,” Gorse said. “I had like four pages of names and numbers.”
With social distancing and with everyone being isolated, Gorse said she always tells her servers to get to know their customers by name.
“I want them to feel like it’s a home,” she said. “If there’s an older woman and she’s by herself — it’s hard to go out to eat by yourself. Make conversation, ask them how they’re doing, listen to them. I want everyone to feel like a family here.”
When business first started, Gorse recalls a time when a customer had asked if the restaurant serves “real eggs.”
“I was like what do you mean real eggs. Eggs are eggs,” she said. “Then I found out, going to food shows, that eggs aren’t always real eggs and a lot of people with allergies have trouble. We serve real eggs; we serve real egg whites; our food is not greasy. We try to keep everything consistent.”
Gorse said her family has always worked in the food industry. Although she didn’t think she was going to go that route, getting to know her customers is something she has always enjoyed.
“I like people,” she said. “Sometimes they’re going through a lot of things and they need someone to listen. Everybody’s in their own world and I want to be there for people.”
Gorse’s goals for 2021 include meeting new customers that come through the doors.
“I hope everyone enjoys coming here,” she said. “Willowick Police ended up coming here and I had five different cities of retired police officers all at the same time — kind of cool.”