From Barracks to Brunch

Story By Wil Crews Photos Contributed By Ronald Schier

Ronald Schier (Ron) is a 21-year Army veteran and owner of the Auburn-Opelika area’s Another Broken Egg Café.

Ron and his wife, Teresa, have traveled to 40 different countries over the course of his military career, which spanned from 1983 to 2008.

“You had to grow up real quick,” Ron said of his time in the Army. “It was a lot of fun.”

During that time serving, Ron, a Chicago native, was the leader of platoons, companies and a battalion, jumped out of airplanes, attended the War College at Maxwell Air Force Base and served as an admissions officer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, among other things. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and his Master of Business Administration from Auburn University.

“I really enjoyed that assignment, bringing in the best and brightest in the country, and meeting good families,” Ron said, of his time at West Point.

Ron and Teresa, a former teacher in the Auburn City Schools system, put all three of their daughters through college at Auburn University. Ron and Teresa were living in Virginia, but frequently traveled down on the weekends for football games while their oldest daughter was attending the university and was in the marching band. He said he and his wife grew fonder of the area during that time and began considering a permanent move.

“We fell in love with Auburn, the whole Auburn-Opelika community, from day one,” he said.

The couple moved to Auburn permanently in 2012, as Ron was doing some work for the U.S. Defense Department and working for Dell computers. However, Ron began to feel he wanted to do something that would leave a greater impact on the community.

“Our prayer ever since we got here was ‘What can we do, how do we bless the community that has blessed us so much?’” he said. “My dad was an entrepreneur and had his own company, so from an early age, from the time I retired, I just always had that desire to make my own mark on something. So, that’s how the whole restaurant thing came about.”

With no experience in the hospitality business, Ron leaned on his military experience to guide him into the next phase of his life.

“In the military, it really helped prepare me for taking accountability and responsibility for my own actions, and making

my own mark,” he said. “I guess that is what put it all together, and through a lot of prayer, we were like, ‘What can we do to give back?’”

The first time Ron ever tasted food from an Another Broken Egg Cafe was in Birmingham while visiting one of his daughters. A lover of breakfast food, Ron was immediately hooked.

“Right away I fell in love with it,” he said. “The corporate service vision when we started was ‘Happy People Sharing Happiness,’ and that spoke to Teresa and me.

“I went to like 15 [different locations] and ordered the same plate at every one to check for consistency … and it was spot on at every place. I talked to the staff and management at each one and I got the same thing over and over again: It’s like a family-run organization. And I was really excited to be a part of that.”

Ron ultimately decided that a franchise was perfect for what he was setting out to achieve.

“I decided to do the franchise route because I never viewed myself as a creative or artsy guy,” he said. “And I liked the franchise route because the standards are already there, the systems are already in place and by far the product is just

incredible with the restaurant itself.”

The Schiers opened their Another Broken Egg Café in June 2019. According to Ron, it’s been an incredible journey ever since.

“It’s been gangbusters; the restaurant has been well-received,” he said. “It turned out that it was a need in Auburn and Opelika. We strategically placed the restaurant literally 100 yards on the border between the two towns. I love Opelika, it’s a great community with good leadership. We were trying to cross that bridge between the two communities and provide service for both of them.”

Of course, the journey from active duty to civilian — and the transition into owning a business — hasn’t always been the easiest thing to do for Ron.

“I never did hospitality before; this is a first for me,” he said. as well. However, the thing the Schiers said they consider their biggest success in this venture is the impact they can make on the people — employees and customers — who come into Another Broken Egg.

“Teresa and I have a large love for people,” he said. “All the employees, we consider them as family. Every day I go in and meet a new friend. We really love that part of the business.

“I keep myself grounded in seeing every customer who comes through as a child of God. Whether they bring in with them perhaps baggage from a bad morning or day, I just try to have that understanding and be patient, and loving and help people be their best self, especially with our employees. People come in from every walk of life and background and we try to make it a happy experience for them. We feel a lot more grounded in the hospitality business, and we really know this is where we need to

“But I felt the military prepared me for it because in the Army they throw everything at you. It’s all about standards.”

In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique learning opportunity for the business owner.

“I’ve had a lot of growth opportunities,” he said. “For instance, we never did third-party delivery or anything. But COVID changed that and we were forced to deliver … and it’s been hugely successful. I think the military really helps you to be adaptable. That really comes into the business world a lot.”

The Schiers said they are more than happy with the success that has come along with the restaurant since its opening. In fact, the store in the Auburn-Opelika area was successful enough to lead the couple to open another franchise in Pensacola, Florida, with another future location planned there be.”

In the future, the Schiers hope to help others make the jump into entrepreneurialism and continue to be a staple of love — and good food — in the community they adore so much.

“There is no other place in the world we would rather live than right here,” Ron said. “This is a wonderful community. Teresa and I are now in a position that we want to help other entrepreneurs cross that bridge of the unknown, and this is a great place to do it. We absolutely love it here and I hope when people come in, they sense that. It’s been a real blessing.”

Another Broken Egg Café is located at 2311 Bent Creek Road in Auburn. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit www. anotherbrokenegg.com/.