By Alex Gary - Oct 17th 2024

 

BELOIT

Margarito Jaimes is always looking for a good deal and this spring he came across an offer to expand his family enterprise into the Town of Beloit.

“We would eat (at Taqueria El Amigo) and my dad became friends with the owner,” his son, Ivan Jaimes, said about the restaurant at 2042 S. Afton Road. “Earlier this year, the owner said he was looking to retire and he knew my dad liked to start businesses.”

Margarito and Evelia Jaimes have owned Jerry’s Bakery on Fourth St. in the city of Beloit for nearly 10 years. Evelia’s brother owns Jerry’s Cafe next door. About three years ago, Margarito and Evelia took advantage of a chance to buy Tex’s Grocery at 1919 St. Lawrence Ave.

In pretty short order, the Jaimes family bought the restaurant. The theme, though, will be different. Before moving to Beloit, Margarito spent several years working at an Egg Harbor Cafe in the Chicago suburbs. Egg Harbor is a chain that focuses solely on breakfast and has locations in 16 cities in Illinois, five in Georgia and one in Lake Geneva.

“My dad always wanted to start a breakfast cafe so that’s what this will be,” Ivan said of the restaurant which will be called Eggsquisite Cafe.

They’ve spent the summer and fall completely redesigning the interior and modernizing the equipment.

He said it will be a mix of American breakfast favorites with some Mexican breakfast dishes sprinkled in. His parents will help with the operations and food, but it will be his to manage. The goal is to have it open by mid-November.

“I have a brother running Tex’s Grocery. We’re kind of each getting our own thing to run,” said Ivan, who began working at the bakery when he was a freshman in high school. He graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 2018.

“Honestly, I’ve been working for my parents since I can remember, which is a blessing. I don’t think I could get a job working for someone else,” he said.

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