New Lake Norman diner features all-day breakfast, smash burgers, full bar
Longtime restaurateur Mel Funk has debuted a new concept with the opening of FunkHeizer’s Diner in the former Fresh Egg Breakfast & Burgers spot on Brawley School Road.
The rebranding includes an expanded menu from what Fresh Egg offered, Funk told CharlotteFive at the restaurant on Friday.
“We are focusing on all-day breakfast and smash burgers, and then we have a Beyond Breakfast menu from 11 a.m. until closing at 8:30 p.m.,” he said.
Filet tips, shrimp and grits, honey Sriracha salmon
The four-ounce smash or “presser” burgers at FunkHeizer’s Diner are $13-$14.
The Beyond Breakfast menu includes four salads ($14-$16) and 10 dinner options ($11-$28).
“All dinner options come with two sides and a roll and are at a very good price,” Funk said.
“The Delmonico steak you can cut with a fork,” Funk said, referring to the Cast Iron Delmonico, seared and seasoned in a cast iron skillet ($28). “It’s delicious.”
Other entrees of note include:
- Filet tips and gravy ($16): Filet tips served over rice with marsala sauce and choice of a side and a dinner roll.
- Chicken Cordon Bleu ($12): Grilled chicken breast topped with ham, Swiss cheese and Hollandaise sauce, served with choice of two sides and a dinner roll.
- Shrimp and Grits ($16): A blend of Charleston- and New Orleans-style shrimp and grits.
- Honey Sriracha Salmon ($14): Pan-seared salmon grilled to order glazed with honey sriracha sauce served with choice of two sides and a dinner roll.
The diner is open daily, has a full bar and will have nightly entrée specials beginning this week. A prime rib special (market price) will be offered Sunday nights, with two sides. Each child accompanied by a parent eats for free on Monday nights.
For breakfast, I tried the Crab Benedict ($16): English muffin or cauliflower patty with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. The sauce was in a pouring container, and I drizzled it on the eggs and the heaping amount of crab meat. One word for this menu item: Scrumptious. The smoothest, tastiest Hollandaise ever.
The breakfast menu also includes fresh egg platters ($14): Two eggs served any style with choice of one meat and one toast, and a side; six omelettes ($13-$14); and waffles ($10-$12).
Just two days after converting Fresh Egg to the new concept, “we’re already seeing big results at breakfast and lunch,” Funk said.
Started Fresh Chef concept, too
Funk is a 45-year restaurant industry veteran, having started with Steak and Ale in Roanoke, Va.
He may best be known to Charlotte-Lake Norman diners for the Fresh Chef concept he started in 2014 with a 40-seat restaurant in Cornelius. He has since built eight Fresh Chef locations and three Fresh Egg restaurants.
“We are now in the process of flipping all three Eggs — here, Huntersville and Cornelius — into FunkHeizer’s Diners,” he said.
The Huntersville FunkHeizer’s Diner is scheduled to open the first week of April, he said. The location is in a Publix-anchored center off Interstate 77 exit 25, at 14013 North Creek Village Drive. That’s along N.C. 73 at Davidson-Concord Road.
Over six weeks, he will slowly blend his Cornelius Fresh Egg menu with the one at FunkHeizer’s Diner and rebrand it as FunkHeizer’s Diner, too. Same with his Statesville Fresh Chef location, he said.
He also still owns the Rock Barn and Conover Fresh Chefs in Catawba County.
Kelly Heizer is his minority-stake partner in the ventures, he said.
“That’s a great combined name for a diner,” I told Funk.
He plans to franchise the brand, he said.
Also, four of five years ago, Funk acquired the Irish Cue sports bar in Cornelius, which opened 38 years ago, he said. The bar has 17 pro billiards tables and an upgraded kitchen since he’s owned it, he said. He opened a second location in Hickory.
FunkHeizer’s Diner
Location: 631 Brawley School Road, Mooresville 28117
Location: 14013 North Creek Village Drive, Huntersville 28078 (opens early April)
Location: 20609 Torrence Chapel Rd, Cornelius, NC 28031 (opens in six weeks at Fresh Egg Cornelius, which is being rebranded with a blended menu).
Cuisine: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Facebook: FunkHeizer’s Diner Mooresville.