At 16, Lori Hutson was still trying to gain her footing and figure herself out. After being hired at a fast-food restaurant, she was as green as they come—but eager and ready to grow. By 19, she was the restaurant’s manager, and she learned a critical lesson she still leans on today: the importance of rewarding someone based on individual performance—and how that success directly ties to the success of the business.
“Fast food, fast pace. I was still trying to figure out who I was,” Hutson says. “But it gave me a sense of urgency and taught me how to balance quality and great customer service. No matter how busy you are, it’s a priority in the hospitality industry.”
Fast-forward nearly three decades—through a career in retail management and a part-time job in a medical office—and Hutson was trying to find herself again. She had raised her family, coached Little League cheerleading for more than a decade, and was searching for a renewed sense of purpose and a way to reconnect with her community.
While traveling with her husband, she stumbled upon Eggs Up Grill. It was a busy Sunday morning, but she says it felt like home—and she felt a pull back to hospitality. This time, she returned as a franchisee in her hometown of Bluffton, South Carolina, bringing the brand to the community where she grew up and raised her family in May 2024.
“I believe there was a reason we found Eggs Up Grill by chance, and it felt like something I wanted to bring to my hometown,” Hutson says. “We’ve always been deeply involved in our local community, and this gave me an avenue to get out there again and create a place where people feel at home and welcome.”
In her first year of restaurant ownership, Hutson has drawn on those early lessons she learned at 16. She left the corporate world in 2014 and stepped away from what she considered a leadership role, but now that she’s back in it, she’s reminded she is still the leader she always wanted to be. Her early career successes weren’t erased by her time away—they were just waiting to come back into the spotlight.
She also surrounded herself with a team of “strong women who have a lot of experience in restaurant 101”—people who believed in what she was building and in the ethos of Eggs Up Grill: neighbors serving neighbors.
“I’ve always been a people-first type of leader and never had a cookie-cutter style of management. You have to be willing to meet people where they are and help them build on their strengths,” Hutson says. “Their success is my success, and I can’t grow my business if my people aren’t growing with me.”
Hutson is already eyeing another restaurant. When she first came on board as an Eggs Up Grill franchisee, she hired a team with an appetite for growth and a willingness to come along for the journey. One of her original hires—a lead cook—has already become part of the management team. The success of her team has given her the confidence to continue moving forward with additional locations.
She has added her own personal touches to her restaurant, including pieces of Bluffton history and a strong presence in decorating for every holiday. Her guests now expect that from her—it’s part of the hometown feel. She says she’s already planning what she’ll do in the second location.
“It’s been so interesting to watch how our team has grown together as a family and how our guests have become friends with each other and built relationships among themselves,” Hutson says. “Now they’re friends with the team, they request their own special table—it’s become their breakfast spot. It’s really a great feeling for me to see this kind of bond created in my hometown.”
As Hutson continues to lead with care, compassion, and community, she’s reminded that reinvention doesn’t have to feel like starting from scratch. It’s about returning to what has driven you all along—a full-circle moment with lasting impact.
“I had three daughters. I raised them all to be strong, independent young women, and they know never to let anyone tell them they can’t do it. I’d say the same to any woman out there who is setting out to do something,” Hutson says. “When you surround yourself with the right people who are willing to do anything to help those goals come true—and you believe in what you want to do—anything is possible.”
