The Early Bird Eatery to open next week in new Wayne Street space in downtown South Bend

Last week, The Early Bird Eatery owners Mike and Jennifer Stone walked dozens of equipment, chairs and tables down the street from their previous location and into their new space.

"We were literally walking stuff down the street yesterday because it's like it almost takes longer to put it in the van and drive it over here," Jennifer Stone said Thursday. "So people are just walking with chairs and lights and stuff."

That's because the restaurants new location is merely just around the corner.

Early Bird Eatery on the move

The Early Bird Eatery has moved 370 feet from its previous location at the collaborative Dainty Maid building, 231 S. Michigan Street in downtown South Bend, to its own new space at 117 E. Wayne St., under the parking garage and near the MLK Jr. Boulevard intersection. Construction is still underway at the new space, but owners plan to debut in the space next week.

This will be the third location for the made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch restaurant, who initially opened in Bridgman, Mich., in 2018 before moving to downtown South Bend in 2021. What makes this location different, however, is it will be the first space that will officially be their own.

"It was always our own goal to have our own space, but with COVID, that screwed things up," Jennifer said. "But it was fortuitous that with COVID being over, being down here and another year of business under our belt, we were able to purchase the building."

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Construction is still underway at the new 3,400-square foot space with many of the changes specifically impacting the aesthetics, as the building had been a restaurant before but has been vacant for years. The Stones carried many of the same touches they had at the Dainty Maid space, with modern white chairs, retro lighting fixtures and mauve pink paint.

New restaurant floor plan

The new floor plan places the dining room on the eastern side of the space and can seat about 55 people, while a coffee and bar area on the western side is available for customers who are waiting for a table and can sit against the large windows. The space also allows for more flexibility for operations, allowing owners to plan out logistics with ease and how they want instead of conforming to the shared area they were once in before.

"The seating capacity is ideal for our type of restaurant since we are from scratch. Once you start to get to too many seats, it becomes hard to serve people and and it doesn't actually increase profitability," Jennifer Stone said. "We found through COVID when we had to reduce to 50% capacity, we were actually able to get food out faster and customers were happier and we ended up making the same amount of money as before. So why would we increase seating and then have people get mad because they were waiting an hour for food and an hour and a half to even get seated?"

Even though they are comfortable with the size of seating, owners also plan to add outdoor patio seating in the front along Wayne Street to be available as the weather warms up.

New drinks, menus and dining events

The breakfast and lunch menu will be similar to as it is now, with co-owner and chef Mike Stone keeping favorites such as corned beef hash and the Early Bird breakfast with eggs and potatoes available. There is a chance for change through the seasons, lightening things up with the warmer months and adding former favorites such as shrimp and grits back on the menu.

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The biggest addition to the menu will be alcoholic drinks such as mimosas and specialty coffee drinks. The Stones met with the Municipal Riverfront Development District Liquor License Review Committee in South Bend last month and received unanimous approval for the proposal for Early Bird's new location, allowing the business to obtain a three-way liquor license at a discount. Jenn Stone said they meet with the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to finalize the licensing at the end of April and hope to have the new items available soon thereafter.

Also on the horizon is the potential for special dinner opportunities. For now, the restaurant will focus on breakfast and lunch, but Jenn Stone mentions plans to host a monthly popup dinner coordinated with special city events like DTSB First Fridays or with the newly renovated library.

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With the move, it was important to the Stones that they remain in the downtown scene because of the following they have generated in the last year and wanting to continue to tap into the traffic they've noticed the downtown area generate.

"We didn't really want to change locations because we didn't want to lose the traffic from downtown businesses. Even though we're a little further from the university, I still think it's very convenient for people to come down here," Jennifer said. "It's always sad when you close one chapter, so, obviously, we are a little sad to be done there. But we're also very excited to start here."

Owners hope to open The Early Bird Eatery on Wednesday, April 6, and plan to be open Wednesdays through Sundays.

Contact Mary Shown at 574-235-6244 and mshown@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @maryshownSBT and @marketbasketSBT.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Restaurants in South Bend: The Early Bird Eatery to open new location