Rise & Shine with the Omelette Shoppe

Jan. 19, 2005

When a restaurant is rated Traverse City’s best breakfast for at least 17 years in a row, you know it has entered the realm of local legend. Such is the case for the Omelette Shoppes, located in downtown Traverse City on Cass Street and at the Campus Plaza location across from the Civic Center.
“We serve the best omelettes in the world,” say owners Jack Lobdell and Scott Parkhurst, who bought the eateries in October 2003 from the man who founded them nearly 30 years ago, Dick Dell’Acqua.
“We serve only breakfast and lunch because we know what we are and what our identity is and that’s enough,” Parkhurst says. “That’s why we concentrate on those two meals exclusively. We want to improve on a good product served in an updated decor. One day we hope to open new places elsewhere.”
This is a restaurant filled with a sense of community. It’s always packed on Sunday with a bustling after-church crowd, and it’s the kind of place where locals bring their out-of-town visitors to get a glimpse of Traverse City’s inner life.
“People are glad to see that we have an Atkins menu,” says manager Lana Watkoski, who’s been at the eatery for 14 years. She says at least a fourth of her weekday customers order from the Atkins menu which includes four eggs scrambled with American cheese and six slices of bacon (3.9 carbs); and tuna salad with mixed greens, bacon, and mozzarella cheese (8.79 carbs), both $6.59.
Traditional breakfast favorites are served “any time, any day” with one of these items: toast, English muffin, bagel, croissant or seasonal fruit plus cinnamon roll. Four regular breakfasts include “The Meathead” with two eggs, hash browns, toast or buttermilk pancakes, bacon, ham or pork sausage at $6.29; “The Gloria” with two eggs, corned beef hash and homemade toast at $5.59; “The Edith” with one egg, hash browns and homemade toast at $3.59; and “The Archie” with two eggs, two buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, and bacon or pork sausage at $5.99 (add 89 cents per extra egg).
“Eggstraordinaire omelettes” are available with three-quarters of the egg yolk taken out, giving 75% less cholesterol and 80% less fat without losing flavor.
• Thirteen French omelettes are of original style with fresh natural ingredients inside a light, moist, fluffy shell. Following is a rundown on each omelette choice:
• The Western has cheddar, green pepper, onions and ham;
• The Denver has cheddar, green peppers, onions and bacon;
• The Chicago features a Windy City sauce, green peppers, onion, celery, green chilies, tomatoes, spices, bacon and cheddar;
• The German Potato is ham and onions, sauteed with potatoes in parsley butter, sour cream and chives;
• The Beef Fajita is seasoned beef with flame-roasted peppers and onions;
• The Greek has spinach, red onions, black olives and feta;
• The Northwest has corned beef hash, Swiss cheese and onions;
• The European has ham, asparagus, Swiss cheese, and Hollandaise.

Then there are the Italian style frittata omelettes:
• The Sicilian has Italian herbs, garlic, ham, mushrooms, green olives and Parmesan;
• The Florentine has spinach, red onions, garlic, bacon and Swiss cheese;
• The Mexican has spicy ground beef, garlic, green peppers, tomato, scallions, sweet onions topped with cheddar, salsa and chips.
If omelettes are not to your taste, the restaurant offers a variety of other choices, including Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon, roasted red peppers on an English muffin topped with two poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce and fresh fruit at $6.99. Or, one could have buttermilk pancakes with Michigan maple syrup, $1.99 - $3.99; multigrain pancakes with sunflower seeds and walnuts at $4.09; oat bran French toast or a Belgian waffle, both $4.09. Side orders include hash browns, corned beef hash, pork sausage, ham, bacon, low fat turkey, and cherry pecan sausage.
For lunch, eight salads are available with toast, an English muffin, bagel or a croissant, including a Caesar at $5.99, cherry chicken, taco and fruit-nut at $6.99. Very good homemade soups include “Our famous” tomato basil with an eight grain roll. Eight sandwiches are served with fresh veggies or cole slaw, fruit or a Kosher pickle and corn chips. A half-pound Maxbauer hamburger runs for $5.29, with chicken salad on an eight-grain roll at $5.99 or a BLT at $6.29.
Through the years, the Omelette Shoppes have hosted virtually every resident in town, not to mention celebrities including former president Gerald Ford, Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford to name a few. With 30 employees ready and willing to refill coffee mugs, this is one restaurant that never lacks good service and a strong sense of community.