Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Biscuit Belly is a growing breakfast franchise that knows “Today Is a Good Day to Treat Yourself.” With locations throughout the South, in states like Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and—of course—Kentucky, Biscuit Belly is preparing for a major expansion into Florida. It has acquired more than 30 Maple Street Biscuit Company restaurants from Cracker Barrel and will, over the next two years or so, transition them into the Biscuit Belly brand.
“It’s a complete rebranding, a refresh inside and out,” Co-Founder and CEO Chad Coulter told What Now on Friday. “Staff will continue to be employed, and we’ll keep running those restaurants while the work is done. It’s light work: flooring, paint, signage. It’s done mainly at night.”
After renovations are completed, each restaurant will close for about a week to retrain staff. After reopening, these Maple Street Biscuit Co. locations will be bona fide Biscuit Belly locations.
What was the inspiration for this move into Florida? What Now asked Coulter.
“We think Florida is a great market for us. These are some of the cities we’ve been targeting for a while,” Coulter said. “The reason we did this now was because Cracker Barrel really wanted to focus on their core brand, and we saw an opportunity to expand quickly. The restaurants really have the same footprint, the same equipment; all we have to do is give it a full refresh. It’s a fast expansion at a fraction of the price and in a tenth of the time. Real estate and teams are two of the hardest things to scale, and this allows us to do it all practically overnight.”
The speed of this expansion is no joke: Biscuit Belly plans to transition all these locations by the end of 2028.
“Right now, it’s about building trust with teams at these locations. We’re actually getting back to where Maple Street itself really started. It’s a scratch kitchen; we make almost everything from scratch, and Biscuit Belly has a more expansive menu. Lots more biscuit sandwiches, more lunch options, more healthy options.”
The four Maple Street Biscuit Co. locations transitioning in the Orlando market are as follows:
- Oviedo, 978 City Walk Ln
- Kissimee, 6268 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway
- Winter Garden, 16027 New Independence Pkwy, Suite 100
- Lake Nona, 11810 Glass House Ln, Suite 140
The expansion represents a big move for what is still a family business at heart. Coulter says Biscuit Belly has one franchisee in the Florida panhandle opening a new location soon, but the former Maple Street Biscuit Co. locations will be company-owned and -operated.
“This is not some big company that purchased these,” co-founder Lauren Coulter told What Now on Friday. “It’s my husband and I, and we’re there in the weeds. Anyone who has been to Biscuit Belly knows how engaged we are. That’s something we bring to the table.”
You can keep up with all things Biscuit Belly by following @biscuitbellybiscuits on Instagram.
