This Southern Breakfast Chain Is Quietly Taking Over the South
Fast-casual restaurants are suffering from low traffic and profits, but one company is bucking the trend—Louisiana-based breakfast chain Biscuit Belly, which just opened a location in Summerville, South Carolina and has plans to open two more in 2025.
The breakfast chain is planning on opening locations in Greenville, South Carolina, and Wake Forest, North Carolina, making 16 total locations across the South. “We’re really putting pedal to the metal this year as far as trying to get new franchisees in the system,” co-founder Chad Coulter said, via WDRB. “We have also raised some money with some investors, some of which are local here to Louisville and some are just people that we know outside of Louisville. We’ve raised money with them to continue to expand, specifically in the Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina markets. Those are our joint venture stores. We manage and operate those as if they were a corporate store.”
Biscuit Belly was busy in 2024, opening new locations in Norfolk, VA, in March, Raleigh, NC, in June, Charlotte, NC, in August, and Fort Mill, SC, in October. “Each new opening was met with overwhelming support and enthusiasm, and we are thrilled to see our Biscuit Belly family growing. More biscuits, more bellies, more love!” the company says.
While the Biscuit Belly menu is full of the delicious staples you would expect from a Kentucky-based breakfast chain, the biscuits really do shine. “We make our biscuits fresh every day, and while it isn’t necessary for the dough to rest, we like to pop our cut biscuits into the cooler for about 30 minutes,” Director of Culinary Training & Operations Hannah McClain tells the Daily Meal. “This helps the biscuit to maintain its layers, giving it that buttery, flaky goodness.”
“We stamp out big ole biscuits — I think we have the largest biscuits served in the U.S.,” Coulter told 1851 Franchise. “We wanted to be a concept that wasn’t just your waffle, pancakes, bacon, and eggs. We wanted to be very unique, but we also wanted to stay true to ourselves by having the biscuit be the centerpiece of the concept… Our berry jam, among many other items, are made in-house. Our chicken is fresh and hand-breaded. That freshness is a big part of what we do. These are products that you can’t just buy from a grocery store.”
The company is also rightfully proud of offering employees a decent work/life balance, thanks to locations being typically open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. as a result of the chain’s single-shift model. “In the fast-paced restaurant industry, where long hours and late-night shifts are often the norm, Biscuit Belly has reimagined what success looks like — for both franchisees and employees,” Coulter says via FastCasual.com. “With our unique single-shift operational model, we serve Southern-inspired breakfast and brunch favorites while promoting a balanced, sustainable lifestyle. This approach has helped us stand out in the fast-casual space, proving that a focus on work-life balance can benefit both employees and the bottom line.”
