Eggs in the City
Address: 2795 South 2300 East
Telephone: 801-581-0809
Website: eggs-in-the-city.restaurants-world.net
District: Millcreek
“If you could do anything, what would you do?” This was the question posed to Heather Santi years ago, and her answer was quite simple. “Breakfast.” Long before Eggs in the City became a Salt Lake City institution, she knew this was her favorite meal of the day and one she wanted to share with others. It was not about food trends or culinary ego. It was about people.
Heather was born and raised in Salt Lake City and grew up immersed in hospitality. Her father owned several well-known local sports bars over the decades, including Duffy’s, Murphy’s, and Lumpy’s. From an early age, she saw how those spaces became second homes for their regulars. “We were always in the people business,” she said. She watched conversations stretch late into the night, friendships form across bar stools, and people arrive at the end of their day, tired and looking to let something go.
Heather later attended the University of Utah and completed coursework in the restaurant and hotel program but never felt that formal credentials were what defined success in hospitality. “Most of my experience is lived experience,” Heather explained. “Even people with MBAs, they may have book knowledge, but they do not have industry experience knowledge.” That belief was reinforced through hands-on work in San Diego, where she apprenticed in restaurants owned by a close family friend, learning the business from the ground up.
Those years clarified something important for Heather. After spending so much time seeing people at the end of their day, she wanted something different. Breakfast felt different. It meant being there at the beginning, when energy is lighter and the day still holds promise. Eggs in the City opened in 2004 with a simple idea and a clear sense of purpose. The first location, an old garage near 1300 South and 1700 East, was modest and unpolished, but the concept behind it was strong. Heather studied what worked in breakfast restaurants, paid attention to menus and rhythms, and built something familiar yet personal. Laughing, Heather revealed that it was not until the very last minute that the first menus were created. “It was just hours before opening.” They were laminated by hand, offering early versions of the dishes that still anchor the restaurant today.
From the start, the name carried a bit of playful city energy, but the heart of the place was never about cleverness. It was about consistency, comfort, and connection. Over the years, the menu expanded, the following grew, and Eggs in the City became part of the daily routine for countless regulars.
After fifteen years, Heather made the decision to move the restaurant to its current home in Millcreek. She was searching for a very specific kind of space - a corner building, room to breathe, and the ability to shape it fully into what the restaurant had become. She found it in the former Blue Star Juice and Coffee building, purchasing the property in 2018. The restaurant reopened in its new location in January 2020, just weeks before the world changed.
Through the uncertainty that followed, Eggs in the City never closed. The restaurant adapted, leaned on its community, and continued to do what it had always done best - show up for people. At the end of 2025, it is busier than ever. Packed daily with regulars and new faces alike, it hums with the energy of a place people return to again and again because it feels familiar and welcoming.
The space itself reflects that spirit. Eclectic artwork, family photographs, pieces collected over time, and an open, lively layout create an atmosphere that feels lived-in rather than curated. Booths and counter seats fill quickly. Outside, the patio and fireplace offer another place to linger. It is casual in the best sense of the word.
The menu remains rooted in classic American breakfast and lunch, elevated by house-made sauces and thoughtful execution. Eggs Benedict, pancakes, French toast, waffles, skillets, burgers - with breakfast and lunch items served side by side, all day.
What truly defines Eggs in the City, though, is the team. Many of the staff have been with Heather for more than a decade, some for nearly the entire life of the restaurant. They followed her from the original location to the new one, a rare loyalty in an industry known for constant turnover. Among them is Jared Brown, known to many as “Downtown Jared Brown,” who has been Heather’s right hand since 2009 and has become a familiar, beloved presence to guests. Heather is quick to credit him and the rest of her team for the restaurant’s success, often deflecting attention away from herself and toward the people who make the place run.
“I like to call us a social café.” That philosophy shows up in the way Eggs in the City operates every day. Regulars are greeted by name. Generations of families return; children who once came with their parents are now bringing their own kids. Life milestones unfold across the tables: marriages, new babies, quiet routines that become traditions. “We have created our own community here,” Heather said. “The people who come through these doors feel like they are part of this place, and that is what matters most to me.”
