WEST VALLEY IS EATING IT UP EGGS `N' THINGS SET TO BREAK OPEN.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Twenty-nine years ago, Ed McCarthy was a discharged SeaBee with a recipe for Swedish pancakes and a hunger for business.

Raised in Boston and fresh out of the Navy, he had no entrepreneurial background, just the idea that his wife Manette's cooking could somehow turn into a business. They knew omelets pretty well, so they opened up a small shop in Camarillo called Eggs `N' Things and hoped for the best.

``I knew I was going to be in business for myself; I just didn't know it would be in the restaurant world,'' McCarthy recalled. ``I was 22 years old; we started off sitting 18 people at a time.''

On Monday, they will open their sixth restaurant near the northeast corner of Platt Avenue and Victory Boulevard in West Hills, a 2,700-square-foot eatery that can seat 140 customers, and those same Swedish pancakes are still on the menu. Though still a largely unknown player in the San Fernando Valley, the small chain's three decades in Ventura County have endeared it to customers.

``It's like Camarillo's breakfast room in the morning,'' said Angela Carroll, a commercial real estate agent based in Oxnard. ``The service and the food combine for a superlative experience.''

The full-flavored, homey fare Eggs `N' Things serves has enjoyed a renaissance lately, according to restaurant expert Andy Harris. Not only does he see the San Fernando Valley as underserved by independent breakfast houses, he also finds the dining consumer increasingly interested in a hearty first meal of the day.

``From the medical community, there's the point of view that if you start off with a good breakfast, that'll help you during the day,'' said Harris, production executive for ``The TV Diner'' on KCAL (Channel 9). ``You're seeing a renewed interest in breakfast, and not just grab and run. What I've seen is on weekdays, it's a little lighter, like fruit and cereal. Then on the weekend, all gloves are off - it's the pancakes, it's three eggs in the omelete.''

Serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, the chain built its reputation on low prices. Though the bacon and eggs have gone up from their original 99 cents to $6.95, the menu has grown to encompass more breakfast fare, sandwiches and burgers.

``You can take your family here and eat the heck out of breakfast, till you can't eat anymore and your bill's still only $22 bucks,'' McCarthy said. ``You leave the girl five bucks and you're gone.''

Although the economy has led many restaurants to fold or at least hold on for better times, McCarthy's aiming for the same slow growth pattern that's served him well. Banking on the consumers' quest for bargain meals and a rise in the number of breakfast meetings, he'll open a seventh location in Valencia by the year's end.

``On Sunday mornings, it's standing-room-only,'' said Tina Melendez, a Realtor who enjoys the eggs florentine at the Camarillo location. ``People wait outside for 45 minutes before you get in. It's just a really community-oriented, fun place to go that has great food. It's always moving in there.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

(color) Owner Ed McCarthy surveys the new location in West Hills for Eggs `N' Things, set to open for hungry diners Monday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Map:

Eggs `N' Things location