The 33-year-old founder of The Eastman Egg Co. says he’s moving forward, though perhaps not in the food business, after closing the remaining three Eastman Egg locations earlier this month.
“It’s always hard to make these decisions. I would love to have continued making breakfast sandwiches in Chicago, but things don’t always happen the way you want,” said Hunter Swartz, who started Eastman Egg as a food truck in 2013.
Eastman Egg, a popular downtown fast-casual breakfast chain with big plans for growth, ran into financial trouble after closing its location at the Ogilvie Transportation Center last year, Swartz said. As of earlier this month, the company closed the other three locations in the Loop, in the West Town neighborhood and inside the Trunk Club office in River North.
“We ultimately couldn’t find a sustainable path forward that could work for all parties,” Swartz said.
Swartz, currently a student at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, said his next venture is more likely to be in technology — not the restaurant industry.
Eater Chicago first reported the news of Eastman Egg’s closing.
Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
