Bloomington breakfast truck owners win $100,000 in contest decided by voters

Two friends who set up a popular breakfast food truck in Bloomington won $100,000 in a new, local business competition that included input from voters.

“It was a really good day. It’s nice to have the relief of knowing we won,” Grant Veitenheimer, co-owner of Scramblin’ Egg, said shortly after the winners were announced late last month.

Veitenheimer said he and co-owner Nick Peterson have been diner fans since college and decided to open up a truck about a year and a half ago because, “we found people love breakfast food but a lot of people don’t necessarily have the time to sit down.”

The pair hope to open a brick-and-mortar store in Bloomington, so they decided to apply for a new contest called Hatch Bloomington that offered $100,000 to people who wanted to expand their businesses in the city. The award funded by the city and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber. Winners were chosen after several rounds of judging, some by a panel that included representatives from the chamber and some that included input from voters.

Sean Lundy, special projects and initiatives manager for the city of Bloomington, said the idea was inspired by a similar contest in Detroit.

“As most small businesses fail within the first 3 years of operating, we are focused on how to best set these entrepreneurs up for success,” Lundy said in a statement. “If the public is invested in the outcome, they are more likely to support, engage, and spend their money at these establishments.”