photo by: Chad Lawhorn

The old Ingredient restaurant location is pictured, July 27, 2018, at 945 and 947 Massachusetts St.

I haven’t quite cracked this case, but there certainly are signs that a major new breakfast restaurant has plans to start cracking a lot of eggs in downtown Lawrence.

The commercial real estate firm Colliers International has confirmed that it has finalized a lease for the old Ingredient restaurant location at 945 and 947 Massachusetts Street. The lease is with a company called JE Lawrence, LLC. But Colliers didn’t provide information about what business would go into the space.

But when you research JE Lawrence, LLC, you find that it recently was created by Wichita businessman Willis “Wink” Hartman. Among the many businesses owned by Hartman is a popular breakfast restaurant chain called Jimmy’s Egg. I’m better at cracking eggs than codes, but the JE in the name “JE Lawrence” might stand for Jimmy’s Egg. We’ll have to wait to see. The city of Lawrence hasn’t yet received any applications — like for building permits — for the space, so I haven’t been able to confirm it that way. I do have a call into the corporate offices of Jimmy’s Egg in Oklahoma City.

Hartman may be a little busy at the moment to talk about his plans for the space. If the name sounds familiar, Hartman was running for governor early this year but dropped out. He now is running for lieutenant governor on Republican Kris Kobach’s ticket. Both he and Kobach will find out on Aug. 7 whether they’ll have more or less time for big breakfasts.

But if Jimmy’s Egg indeed is coming to downtown, it will shake up the breakfast scene. The Ingredient space is big, with more than 5,000 square feet of space. And the chain, seemingly, knows breakfast. It got its start 35 years ago in Oklahoma City, and is on a pretty good growth spurt currently. In recent months it has opened locations in Omaha, Neb., Springfield, Mo., Killeen, Texas, and Fayetteville, Ark. It now has more than 60 locations, with seven of them in Wichita.

As for its menu, get ready for a lot of egg dishes. The place is big on three-egg omelettes, and it touts it has 40,000 different omelette combinations. The restaurant has five different cheeses to choose from, seven different meats — including standards like bacon and ham but also corned beef hash — and 11 different vegetables. That’s all fairly standard stuff. But slightly unusual is that the restaurant also gives you the option of selecting a sauce for your omelette. Those selections include sausage gravy, hollandaise, picante and white queso sauces.

Pancakes also are big on the menu, and they tout something called a cinnamon roll pancake, which even comes out with swirled frosting. Other pancake varieties — in addition to the traditional buttermilk and whole wheat options — include double blueberry, caramel apple, Reese’s, chocolate chip, and sweet potato pancakes.

The menu also includes about 20 sides, with most of them being your traditional breakfast fare. Some of you, though, will be excited to know the side options include grits, including cheddar and bacon grits.

The restaurant, which is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., also serves lunch. Those offerings include hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads and a few larger items like chicken fried steak dinners.

Again, before you start getting out your morning stretchy pants, it is still unconfirmed that Jimmy’s Egg is coming to downtown, but it sure looks like a situation worth watching.

In other news and notes:

This is less speculative: A Lululemon pop-up store is opening in downtown Lawrence. No, Lululemon is not the glassy-eyed look I get when I eat one too many servings of cheddar bacon grits. Instead, Lululemon is a clothing company that specializes in yoga, running and other exercise gear.

According to both its website and a downtown sign, Lululemon will open a “seasonal store” at 714 Massachusetts St., which is the former site of White House Black Market. A sign says the store will open Aug. 3.

Expect all types of shorts, T-shirts, Spandex gear, and other clothing designed for exercise. But the company especially touts its connection to yoga. Designing clothes for yoga practitioners is how the company got started in 1998. These days, the company’s regular stores each week “push their products aside,” set out yoga mats and offer free yoga classes, according to the company’s website. It is unclear whether the Lawrence store will be doing that since it is just a temporary store.

Either way, it probably is a good idea to stretch before I tackle a stack of cinnamon roll pancakes.