In-Season: Potatoes
Whether boiled, mashed, roasted, steamed, fried or baked, potatoes have become an integral part of American cuisine, and for good reason. I like to think of them as shapeshifters. These spuds can be p...
Perched for Success
Creativity brims off the menu at the Early Bird Eatery in downtown South Bend, Indiana, where modern breakfast classics like huevos rancheros and chicken and waffles are elevated with fresh, local ingredients. Owners Jennifer and Mike Stone have transformed their love of food into a thriving restaurant. With Mike’s culinary background and Jen’s business experience, they felt they could create something unique.
“You know when you get experience and think, ‘I can do it better?’ I think both of us always just wanted to do our own thing,” says Jennifer.
There was also a need—Jen and Mike had opposing work schedules. Mike worked as the head chef at Shadowland on Silver Beach, an event venue in St. Joseph, Michigan, and Jennifer worked for the state. With two young children, they wanted to create a schedule that allowed them to parent together. Breakfast was the meal that worked for their family’s schedule, so in 2018 they opened The Early Bird Eatery in Bridgman.
In 2020, the pandemic forced them to make decisions about the future. They had considered moving to South Bend for a more consistent market—Bridgman is bustling in the summer, but the crowds drop off as the weather cools. Shared space at Dainty Maid Food Hall downtown was available, so in 2021 they made the move.
When the Wayne Street spot became available, they moved around the corner and opened there in 2022. They loved the space’s natural light, and that they were able to design to suit their specific needs. “We learned a lot of lessons during Covid,” Jennifer says, one of which is that taking reservations allows them to control the flow of customers and flip tables faster. Reservations can be made over the phone or online, and customers who make one can walk in on a busy Saturday morning knowing their table is waiting.
On a crisp Thursday morning in October, the dining room was bright and softly buzzing with conversations. “I love this place, I keep coming back,” was overheard from a nearby table.
“I think people taste the difference in quality,” Jennifer says. “We want people to have a really crave-worthy, delicious meal.”
The single-sheet menu has breakfast on one side and lunch on the other. One standout sandwich is an elevated take on a BLT called the BAART (bacon, avocado, arugula, roasted tomato) with blue cheese aioli. The breakfast side offers massive blueberry lemon pancakes with lemon Danish cream cheese, and breakfast poutine with two farm-fresh eggs and Andouille sausage étouffée.
Infusco Coffee Roasters in Sawyer, Michigan, supplies coffee for classics like cappuccino and macchiato. The brunch cocktail selection includes a hot toddy with bourbon and amaro, an elderflower mimosa and the Buzz Worthy, with espresso vodka and Violet Sky mocha. South Bend–based Violet Sky Chocolate is used in their hot chocolate as well.
From the start, the Stones wanted to source as many ingredients locally as possible. South Bend staple The Elder Bread delivers its sourdough bread twice a week, and they have partnerships with Jake’s Country Meats and Bennett Farms in Michigan.
“We enjoy supporting those other local small businesses and having those connections,” Jennifer says.
Jennifer and Mike’s two children are interested in helping out at the restaurant, but Jen says they will wait until the kids are “a little taller” before they start really helping out. She says their team likes to compare restaurant service to a football game: “Most of the time you’re winning, but every now and then you have a hard day, some challenges, and you lose the game.”
But the human connections formed between happy customers and staff make it worth it. “Restaurant work is hard work,” Jennifer says. “It's those connections with people, laughing, having a great time. When people leave happy, it makes you feel good—that's what keeps us going.”
The Early Bird Eatery
117 E. Wayne St.
South Bend, IN
574.208.3806
theearlybirdeatery.com
Gwynneth Hurley works as a freelance editor, writer and nanny in South Bend, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University in 2019 with degrees in cognitive science and journalism.
She loves to explore and learn about the world through a holistic perspective. She can be
reached at gwynnethhurley@gmail.com.
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