Gourmet biscuits and mimosas: Lexington’s getting more breakfast restaurants
Get your butter knives ready, Lexington, because another new biscuit place is rolling into town.
Louisville-based Biscuit Belly is expanding and wants to put three new locations in the Bluegrass next year.
The news comes just after Tudor’s Biscuit World opened its first Lexington location on East New Circle Road.
Founded in 2019, Biscuit Belly has become a popular breakfast/brunch place with three spots in Louisville already and a fourth likely.
Founder and CEO Chad Coulter said Friday that he is close to a deal on at least one Lexington location and thinks the city could support another one or two as well.
He is looking at the Beaumont/Palomar shopping area, the University of Kentucky campus area and the Richmond Road/Hamburg area.
Coulter said he anticipates at least two opening by the middle of 2021.
Biscuit Belly is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 3 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The menu, developed by classically trained chef Tavis Rockwell, features gourmet biscuits sandwiching a wide variety of ingredients including buttermilk fried chicken thighs or smoked brisket.
Or go for both with the Belly Buster: A biscuit with the fried chicken, sausage, bacon, brisket, cheddar, mushroom gravy and and over-easy egg.
“We offer a little bit more than bacon, egg and cheese on the biscuit, although we’ll do that too,” Coulter said.
The menu does include a few non-biscuit items like goetta and pancakes. There are a gluten-free and vegetarian options, including a veggie gravy. Smoked or crunchy tofu can be substituted for other proteins but there are no vegan options.
The concept is a step above fast casual, he said, with a gourmet menu delivered quickly and at a price point a little below Wild Eggs or First Watch, other popular breakfast/brunch chains.
Biscuit Belly prides itself on speed: “We typically have a line out the door, but it moves quickly,” Coulter said. “Our goal is to deliver the food in under 10 minutes ... have you in and out in 45 minutes.”
They also will serve brunch cocktails and mimosas, he said.
“The biggest differentiator is the food,” Coulter said. “Wild Eggs and First Watch have a broader menu. Ours really revolves around biscuit sandwiches.”
Coulter said Lexington is expected to be a good market for the brand, which appeals to many demographics.
“It’s a bright, fun and funky atmosphere,” he said. “Upbeat, colorful.”
