Sleepy Bee, the wildly successful local restaurant chain, is opening a new concept in Avondale down the street from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center at 3440 Burnet Ave. The new restaurant—called Waggle Breakfast and Bowls by Sleepy Bee—will focus on a quick service, create-you-own model. However, the different setup will still feature the quality patrons expect from Sleepy Bee, including the same flavor profiles and locally sourced ingredients as the other Sleepy Bee restaurants.
Sleepy Bee owners Sandra Gross, John Hutton and executive chef Frances Kroner are excited to launch the new concept in the perfect location. Cincinnati Children’s, which owns the building, approached Gross and Hutton about opening a new location in Avondale after Subway vacated the space. Gross and Hutton, a physician and researcher in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s, had wanted to work with the medical center for awhile, so the partnership was a natural fit.
“We love to repurpose spaces that seem like they need a new breath of air or a new bit of life, so we were very excited to learn about the possibility of going into an old fast food restaurant with our take on faster food,” said Gross.
According to Gross, Waggle will bring a healthier, fast-paced dining option to the neighborhood to serve residents, employees and Cincinnati Children’s patient families. The menu will include scrambles, pancakes and grain bowls.
“Having healthy options around the hospital is so important, so we’re excited to bring out dedication to local sourcing in a fast casual setting to the neighborhood,” said Gross. “I can’t think of a better collaboration than with Cincinnati Children’s.”
The location also creates opportunities to engage the larger Avondale community. Gross is working with a local advocacy group to create artwork for the Waggle space, similar to community projects they’ve completed at the other Sleepy Bee locations, like the “bee-fiti” wall of bees drawn by businesses and nonprofits near the downtown restaurant.
The new restaurant concept—which Gross described as a “healthier alternative to fast food”—called for a new name. The new moniker, Waggle, is a reference to the waggle dance that honeybees do to communicate the location of a flower patch where other bees can find nectar. It fits with Waggle’s mission to provide nutritious food on the fly for its customers.
Waggle is expected to open in late fall of 2019. Sleepy Bee also has locations in Oakley, Blue Ash and Downtown.
For more information about Sleepy Bee, visit www.sleepybeecafe.com or follow Waggle on Instagram at @waggle_bfastandbowls.