The brand was founded in 2019 by Chad and Lauren Coulter and grew units by 40% last year.
As the brunch category grows increasingly competitive, Louisville, Ky.-based Biscuit Belly stands out with two key differentiators: its fast-casual format, unlike the typical casual-dining breakfast concepts, and a menu centered around Southern biscuit sandwiches instead of conventional pancakes and omelets.
Husband-and-wife team Chad and Lauren Coulter started their careers as pharmacists and founded Biscuit Belly in 2019 after first venturing into restaurant ownership with a tapas concept. Over the past six years, Biscuit Belly has grown to 14 locations — adding four in 2024 alone — with six more in the pipeline.
“Look, we’re not the first ones ever to put biscuits on a menu, but until us, it was mostly mom and pop places,” Chad Coulter said. “We felt we could put some strong branding on it and scale it across the Southeast and Midwest.”
Biscuit Belly also has a robust franchising program, with six franchised locations out of 14 so far. In 2024, Biscuit Belly grew by 40% with new stores in North and South Carolina, and just signed a deal in Houston.
“It’s not all about numbers — we’d rather have fewer really great spots than a bunch of lower-performing stores,” Coulter said. “We’re taking our time and making sure that we can find the right spots, because ultimately, that’s going to dictate our future.”
Coulter envisions Biscuit Belly’s future in regions with a strong biscuits and gravy culture, targeting development throughout the Southern U.S. This means the company must maintain a perfect biscuit recipe — not too dry or crumbly — and uphold rigorous quality standards as it expands, especially since these breakfast staples are serious business to discerning Southern palates.
These biscuits are the base for some of the brand’s most popular menu items, including the Mama’s Boy (Coulter’s go-to order) topped with fried chicken, roasted jalapeno, pimento cheese, spicy pickles, and fried green tomato. Other biscuit sandwiches are topped with ingredients like brisket, goat cheese, classic bacon, and eggs, or one “Boozy Bird” even comes with a shot of bourbon.
Biscuit Belly operates primarily as a scratch-made kitchen, Coulter said, crafting not just the biscuits but also the pimento cheese, berry jam, and most sauces in-house. Its quality control process remains rigorous — and one the founders refuse to compromise on.
“It all starts with really good recipes and a great training program,” Coulter said. “Our whole thing is making biscuits fresh every day. We have zero interest in opening a commissary and going frozen just for the sake of consistency. We actually showcase the biscuits being made fresh in all of our new stores.”
Besides opening new stores, Biscuit Belly has been working on the aforementioned new store prototype, which also includes upgraded signage, custom murals, and other local touches so that not every store feels the same.
The brand is also ramping up its digital technology presence and plans to launch a new app in September. Despite Biscuit Belly being a fast-casual brand that stays on top of technology investments, Coulter said that 75% of customers choose to dine in-house, with catering as a close second-place channel.
Moving forward, Biscuit Belly hopes to keep growing at a 30-40% annual pace, though Coulter acknowledged, “the more stores you have, the more you have to open every year to maintain that same percentage.” By 2030, he said, Biscuit Belly could have upward of 50-70 stores, though Coulter would not pin down a specific number.
“We’re privately held,” he said. “So we don’t have any private equity fund cracking the whip and saying, ‘Go open more stores.’ We can take our time and do it the right way.”
This article was written by Joanna Fantozzi for the Nation’s Restaurant News and originally posted on www.nrn.com.
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