By Scott Cronick
Robert Dicesare Jr. knew that he would some day own a restaurant.
Born and raised in Galloway, Dicesare’s fascination with cooking started at a young age.
“I would call my mom after basketball practice and tell her to get the fryer going,” said Dicesare of his family’s small, home basket fryer in which he would make mozzarella sticks and basic things. “I always wanted to cook as a little kid.”
After graduating high school, Dicesare found himself at Smithville Bakery & Coffee Shop, a longtime breakfast and brunch spot in Historic Smithville.
“That’s where I learned everything,” said Decesare, who went from washing dishes to working the line to eventually basically running the kitchen when COVID hit.
Not only would Dicesare learn how to cook from Anthony Sawyer, but it was there he would meet his soul mate, Lyndsey Sawyer, Anthony’s daughter.
“I love them so much,” Decesare said. “He’s my future father-in-law. (Me and Lyndsey) aren’t engaged yet, but she knows we will be. I just don’t have the money. I bought a restaurant.”
The big purchase
That restaurant is The Cracked Egg Café in Galloway, a quaint, homey 25-seat restaurant with a counter that is perched over the grill where Dicesare now cooks every day in hopes he could soon buy that engagement ring.
“That’s why we are open seven days a week,” he said with a laugh. “I have some bills to pay.”
By the way, Dicesare is only 25 years old!
“The idea of me actually owning a restaurant started during COVID,” he said. “At the Bakery, a lot of the good, loyal employees got a lot of responsibility put on them, and I was one of them. And I thought, ‘If I could handle it here, why can’t I do this myself?’”
Good question.
Dicesare originally considered buying and operating a food truck since opening and operating costs are so much lower to get a young chef like Dicesare started.
But, unfortunate circumstances changed that when both of Dicesare’s parents died about two years ago.
“When I lost my parents, they left me a little lump sum of money to me … not millions, but something to get me started. I said, ‘Let’s not take this for granted. Let’s use this as an opportunity to do something great.’ You can’t buy a restaurant at Walmart, so you have to wait for that opportunity,” Dicesare said.
So, last fall, when former Cracked Egg Café Owner Melanie Ruggles posted on Facebook that she was looking to sell the well-known and loved establishment that she owned and operated for eight years, Dicesare jumped on it.
“I never dined there before,” he admitted. “I was working breakfast hours for seven or eight years, so the last thing I was doing on my day off was waking up early to eat the same food I could eat on the line for free every day. But, I knew they had a great reputation.”
Within two weeks of Ruggles’ post, she came to an agreement to sell The Cracked Egg to Dicesare. They closed on the purchase in mid-December, and after about six weeks of cleaning, reorganizing and getting things ready, The Cracked Egg Café reopened by the end of January thanks to some hard work by Dicesare, his girlfriend, family and friends.
“It’s exciting, but once you get into the meat and potatoes of things, it’s like, ‘Oh boy … what did you get yourself into?’ You are working way more than 9 to 5 … but that’s what you signed up for. No matter how much you prepare, you can never be ready. But I love it.”
Same great food, different owner
For those in the know, The Cracked Egg Café space, according to Dicesare, has been mostly a restaurant or luncheonette in one form or another since the 1950s, including a stint as a seafood spot.
And Dicesare is right on when he is confident that the old-school luncheonette charm of the place is what keeps people coming back … along with the food. That’s why when you walk in, you won’t really see many changes.
“People come and hang out at the counter and chat with me,” Dicesare said. “They come to have some good food with me and to vibe with me. I thought I might mind them looking at me the whole time, but I like it. They tell me, ‘You are doing great. I can’t believe you can do this.’ And I am looking at it like, ‘Oh my God, they are looking at me, and did I do this wrong, and are they judging my and my food?’ So, it’s been very relieving to see nice guests say nice things. They just want to talk … it’s a whole environment. And you get to know your customers.”
On the breakfast side, Dicesare is particularly proud of his three-egg omelettes – all served with toast and home fries – and there are about 10 available, including The Hungry Man ($13.95) with sausage, ham, pork roll, bacon and American cheese; the popular spinach, tomato and feta ($13.95) and the veggie ($13.95) with spinach, peppers, onions, tomato, mushrooms and broccoli.
There are a bunch of breakfast sandwiches, but you should definitely steer toward his signature “The Crackin” with two eggs, American cheese, homefries and your choice of bacon, pork roll, sausage, ham or scrapple on a kaiser with bottomless coffee or soda for $8.95.
By the way, all of The Cracked Egg’s sausages, including breakfast, hot and sweet, come from a local butcher in Vineland.
“They are made there in house,” Dicesare said. “I am trying to bring in some quality, locally made sausage. And the home fries are made with potatoes that are hand cut every morning.”
The Cracked Egg also offers pancakes ($8 short stack, $9 full stack) and french toast ($7 short stack, $8 full stack), and you can always add blueberries, strawberries or chocolate chips if that’s your thing, including on the Belgian waffle ($8).
On weekends look out for the homemade sausage gravy over biscuits, as well as the creamed chipped beef, which were sold out when I arrived last Sunday morning.
“They have been so popular we might have to put them on the regular menu,” Dicesare said.
For those not interested in breakfast, it’s typical luncheonette fare from a bacon cheeseburger and fries ($9.95) to a chicken cheesesteak ($9) to a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato ($8.50) to a triple-decker club sandwich ($9) to cheesesteak or chicken quesadillas ($9, $8.50). There’s also cold sandwiches including an Italian sub ($8) or BLT ($7), as well as broccoli cheddar or loaded potato soup ($4.50).
“If I am open, the whole menu is open,” he said. “If you walk in at 6:15 a.m. after working overnight and you want a burger or a cheesteak, I will not turn you down.”
A young chef’s future
Dicesare is a fine example that if you work hard and set goals, you can achieve anything at any age.
Some may have taken an inheritance and wasted it. That was never in the cards for Dicesare, who was inspired and motivated by their deaths.
“That would be the biggest disservice I could have done to both my parents,” he said. “I know they are looking down and proud of me on the other side. I made a promise to them I would buy a restaurant, and I did.”
As far as his future, Dicesare already has plans to remove a fountain right outside of The Cracked Egg Café to expand and offer outdoor seating. But he has way more plans than that.
“I want to expand and grow in the business world,” he said. “This is the first of many. We are coming for you Denny’s!”
The Cracked Egg Café is located at 637 S. New York Road, Galloway. They are open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Like them on Facebook or call 609-872-8499.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
