When a Shawnee brunch restaurant went up for sale earlier this year, Matt McQueeny got the chance to pounce on a long-awaited opportunity.
Local pizza chain Minsky’s — the owner of Kansas City-based Eggtc. — was seeking a new owner for the Shawnee location of its breakfast and lunch eatery. After multiple decades working in the food and drink world for companies like Subway and First Watch, McQueeny felt it was time to step up to the plate and operate a restaurant of his own.
After a week of temporary closure, the restaurant started its new chapter in June. Matt and his wife Heather McQueeny reopened the restaurant as Rize N Shine.
Rize N Shine is at 7182 Renner Road
- The restaurant operates just east of Interstate 435, off Midland Drive and Renner Road.
- Before its rebranding, the restaurant operated as Eggtc. for roughly 15 years.
- Rize N Shine is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day of the week.
Rize N Shine serves up early morning eats
Rize N Shine’s menu offers breakfast options both sweet and savory, from sweet cream pancakes and French toast to breakfast quesadillas and avocado toast.
The restaurant also offers lunch items, like chicken sandwiches and caprese salads, as well as a wide range of caffeinated beverages, such as lattes and mochas.
As part of the restaurant’s rebranding, the McQueenys have added some new items to the menu, including the “French toast for the King” with Brioche bread and a peanut butter and banana stuffing.
The restaurant’s current menu serves as a “trial run” menu, while the couple gathers customer feedback over the next four weeks or so. But aside from a few menu additions (and the new name, which their daughter came up with), the McQueenys kept the menu about 80% the same.
“Honestly, it was a successful restaurant before,” Matt said. “We didn’t make a lot of changes; we just didn’t need to.”
The couple also kept all of Eggtc.’s previous employees on board. They hoped to maintain the friendly rapport between those employees and their regular customers — something they enjoyed before as customers themselves.
“There are a lot of customers that come in here either daily or weekly, and they want a specific server,” Heather said. “The servers know exactly what they’re going to order. When they see them walk through the door, they’ll have their drinks on the table.”
This chapter has been a long time coming for the owners
Before taking on ownership of Rize N Shine, Matt worked in sales for local company Performance Foodservice. His experience in the food industry made for a natural transition into ownership.
“This was always sort of my dream,” he said.
The location of the restaurant, the McQueenys said, was a further draw as longtime Shawnee residents themselves.
“(With the restaurant) being in our community, we knew this was a dream we couldn’t turn down,” Heather said.
The couple said they see expansion in the restaurant’s future — both in terms of new possible locations and of the Shawnee location’s kitchen itself. But for now, they’re focused on enjoying this new chapter and their new roles in the community.
“We moved out here 24 years ago after we got married, and we plan to stay,” he said. “People walking in that you know that didn’t even know you owned the business yet has sort have been cool.”
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