Ben, a native Atlantan, and Jennifer, originally from the Washington
D.C. area, met in Ann Arbor, Michigan while attending law school.
After practicing law for a number of years, we opened West Egg in
March 2004 hoping to create a comfortable environment that might help
anchor a growing community. We drew from our own experiences in
coffee shops and small restaurants in college towns and from living
and traveling around the world – those places that have an innate
warmth that draws people in and seem to become an integral part of
people’s daily lives. We settled on an industrial part of town in a
rough warehouse complex that was central to many but that had been
visited by few. Friends and family generously donated their time to
paint walls, build shelves, organize an office, work the counter, and
even wash dishes. Neighbors started coming and things just grew from
there. Following redevelopment of the entire site, in January 2010,
West Egg moved about 50 yards south into the new White Provision
Residences building. With all the growth in the neighborhood since we
first opened, as part of the move we felt it was time to expand into
evening hours and add dinner and bar service. We always envisioned
West Egg as one of those places that is available to its community
from a coffee in the morning through a glass of wine in the evening.
While West Egg has evolved a lot over the years in how it operates,
the underlying idea of comfort and community has remained constant.
We recognize that customers do as much as the owners and staff to
create any restaurant environment, so are immensely grateful to all
those who have supported us through these years and whose patronage
has helped us build and shape West Egg.
