Faris Awwad
Faris Awwad

Faris Awwad, founder of WAAD Ventures Corporation, was preparing to enter the corporate world when he made a decision that would redirect his career. At 23, he invested $16,000 in a restaurant in Canada, opening Eggstatic in December 2018 with zero marketing, a plastic sign, and a budget that left almost no margin for error. Today, the entrepreneur leads a hospitality group with three restaurant brands, a workforce of 800 across its locations, and an international expansion strategy spanning seven US states.

The scale of the business makes its early survival all the more remarkable. Eggstatic's opening attracted few customers, while rent alone approached $11,000 a month. A limited cash reserve forced Awwad to manage the restaurant one table at a time, using revenue from one group of customers to finance the next. By March 2019, outstanding bills had reached a point where closure appeared inevitable.

"I had to pay almost $40,000 to $45,000," he recalls. "I had around $13,000, and I knew that even with what I expected to sell over the next 17 days, I would still be at least $20,000 short."

Facing the prospect of shutting down, Awwad made an unconventional decision. He spent his remaining money on new plates, staff uniforms, and proper signage, investing in the restaurant despite knowing he might have only weeks left to operate. He had no guarantee the improvements would pay off, but he wanted Eggstatic to be ready for customers if the opportunity came.

The turning point arrived on a cold March morning. Awwad and his staff were returning from a nearby bakery when they spotted a queue of approximately 60 people outside the restaurant. The previous day, Eggstatic had received unexpected attention from BlogTO, a Toronto-based publication whose coverage had gone viral.

"We went from barely having 10 tables all day to having a lineup of 60 people outside the door," Awwad recalls. "We were so shocked. We just went in, opened the doors, and worked hard until the end of the day."

The restaurant was unprepared for the sudden demand. Staff had enough food ready to serve roughly 10 tables, despite having 20 tables in the dining room. Some customers waited two hours, and the team continued working until evening to serve guests and clear the restaurant. Yet the surge transformed the business. Monthly sales, previously around $25,000 to $28,000, exceeded five times that amount after that month.

Publicity brought the customers, but Eggstatic's menu gave them a reason to return. Awwad had resisted the conventional boundaries of breakfast dining, combining Western dishes such as pancakes and Eggs Benedict with Middle Eastern staples including hummus, falafel, and shakshuka. He continued introducing influences from different cuisines, allowing personal taste and experimentation to shape the menu.

"I don't have a specific cuisine that I'm going to follow," he explains. "Whatever I like, I'm going to put it on the menu, regardless of whether it fits the concept. That's why people liked how interesting the menu was always becoming."

That willingness to experiment became the foundation for expansion. Awwad opened The Backyard Smokehouse in April 2021, followed by Petra in February 2022. Once the group had three brands, he began building the infrastructure required to operate them as a coordinated hospitality business. A headquarters and logistics operation gave the restaurants a more structured back end, while employees who had worked alongside him in the original kitchen moved into operations, project management, and training roles.

Today, the group has 20 employees at its headquarters and approximately 800 working across its restaurant operations. For Awwad, maintaining quality at that scale depends on preserving the details that initially distinguished Eggstatic from its competitors.

"People don't understand that details are everything," he says. Even two sautéed cherry tomatoes on a plate can contribute to a restaurant's identity. The same applies to freshly prepared ingredients and the way staff welcomes guests. Removing small elements to save time or money can gradually erode the experience customers recognize.

The next test is international growth. The group has signed agreements covering Illinois, California, New Jersey, New York, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, with Pakistan planned for March 2027 and Guangzhou, China, targeted for the middle of the same year. Awwad says regional managers have been preparing to oversee expansion, supported by work on supply chains and marketing.

Awwad's advice to aspiring entrepreneurs reflects the determination that carried him through Eggstatic's precarious opening months. When it comes to someone considering a business of their own, Awwad's advice is direct. He remarks, "Don't have a plan B."

His own experience gives the statement a specific meaning. The restaurant nearly closed before an unexpected surge in demand changed its trajectory. Yet the publicity alone could not have sustained the business if the team had been unable to serve the customers who arrived. Awwad's story is ultimately about recognizing an opportunity under pressure, making the business ready to meet it, and building the systems needed to keep delivering long after the initial attention fades.