Broken Yolk Café: Building a Breakfast Empire with John Gelastopoulos

Not every entrepreneur starts out with a perfect business plan. For John Gelastopoulos, the journey to building Broken Yolk Café into a successful franchise began with a leap of faith—and a stack of credit cards.

On Emerging Franchise Brands, John shares how he went from being a business broker to owning and expanding one of San Diego’s most beloved breakfast spots. When he first took over Broken Yolk Café in 1993, it was a single location with only 80 seats. After doubling its size and implementing a grassroots marketing strategy—personally inviting people to dine for free—he created a buzz that never stopped growing.

Fast-forward to today, and Broken Yolk Café has expanded to 40 locations across multiple states, with more on the way. John talks about what makes the brand unique, from its generous portion sizes to its welcoming atmosphere, and how franchisees can be successful by following a proven system and fully committing to the business.

With a franchise-friendly model, strong community engagement, and a menu that keeps customers coming back, Broken Yolk Café is proving that breakfast is more than just the most important meal of the day—it’s a powerful business opportunity.