Louisville, KY, May 19 – Biscuit Belly, a chef-driven fast casual breakfast and brunch concept specializing in gourmet biscuit sandwiches, has today announced the signing of its first and second multi-unit development agreements to franchise ten locations throughout Lexington, Knoxville, Huntsville and Birmingham. This partnership with franchisees, Jay and Kelly Shoffner, Kumar Patel and Rajesh Patel, marks the first development deals since the brand launched its franchising efforts at the end of 2020 and supports Biscuit Belly’s plans to grow to 20-25 locations by the end of 2021.
Seasoned multi-unit franchisees, Jay and Kelly Shoffner and their family, will own and operate six new Biscuit Belly locations throughout Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee. Jay is a second-generation KFC franchisee and today, operates 34 KFC locations and ten Long John Silver’s stores throughout Southern Indiana, Kentucky and East Tennessee. Born and raised in Southeast Kentucky, Jay is the son of the founder of JRS Restaurant Group Corporation, J. Roy Shoffner. The restaurant franchise group opened its first KFC location in Middlesboro, Kentucky in 1968, and grew to five locations throughout the state and into Tennessee before being sold in the late 90s to Jay and wife, Kelly. Today, Jay’s wife and daughters, Madison and Mallory, help manage and operate the groups’ 44 KFC and Long John Silver’s restaurants, and other commercial interests. In an effort to expand into new concepts, Shoffner sought out an in-demand emerging restaurant brand, resulting in the franchise agreement with Biscuit Belly and Shoffner Family Foods, LLC. Daughters, Mallory and Madison, will head up the operations for the six stores in Lexington and Knoxville. The first Lexington location, located at 652 East Main Street, will open in mid-September with two additional local restaurants opening in Winter 2022. Three Knoxville locations are slated to open in Fall 2022 and Winter 2023.
“My daughters are based in Louisville and they raved about the Biscuit Belly Concept, so when I heard the news that the brand was now franchising, we jumped at the chance to partner with one of the most craveable fast-casual concepts on the market,” said Jay Shoffner, owner and Vice President of JRS Restaurant Corporation and Corbin Restaurants Inc. “Founder Chad Coulter and wife, Lauren’s enthusiasm for Biscuit Belly along with the brand’s roots in my home state motivated me to pursue this strong investment opportunity. We look forward to bringing our experience with owning and operating mature restaurant franchises to the emerging Biscuit Belly concept and opening our first location in Summer 2021.”
Owners of the four new Biscuit Belly franchise locations in Birmingham and Huntsville is Power Brands Hospitality Group (“PBHG”). The family-owned restaurant group started operating franchises in 1991 and has now grown to more than 30 restaurants, spas and hotel investments spread throughout the Southeast. Today, the group owns and operates multiple brands, including Five Guys, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Super Chix, Grimaldi’s, Urban Cookhouse and many more. The group signed an agreement with Biscuit Belly to open two Huntsville Metro Area locations and two Birmingham Metro Area locations. Huntsville stores will be operated by PBHG partners, Wendy Coates, Gira Zaveri and Rootul Zaveri. Birmingham stores will be operated by Andrew Adams, Rachel Adams, Zeel Zaveri and Arnold Soni.
“We make our investment decisions when we have firm and authentic conviction in the team and business and Biscuit Belly has completely exceeded our expectations. For being such a young brand, we were blown away by the level of professionalism, experience, and attention to detail that Chad and Lauren bring to the table,” said Kumar Patel, partner of PBHG. “We are thrilled about our partnership with Biscuit Belly and are looking forward to bringing the brand to Huntsville and Birmingham in the near future.”
Chad and Lauren Coulter alongside partners Chuck Schnatter and Chef Tavis Rockwell founded Biscuit Belly in 2019 and currently operate three locations throughout Louisville, Kentucky with plans for 10 corporate locations by the end of 2022. As a Georgia native, Chad grew up eating at mom-and-pop restaurants where his love for scratch-made biscuits and southern breakfast fare began. Conceptualized by Chad’s favorite childhood fare, Biscuit Belly serves breakfast and brunch seven days a week and features a hearty selection of mouth-watering scratch-made biscuit sandwiches, unique breakfast cocktails and other southern breakfast fare – with a twist. Every dish is made-to-order including house-smoked meats and vegetarian and gluten-free options. The design of each location reflects the brand’s upbeat and bright atmosphere which is inspired by their southern roots.
Biscuit Belly is currently seeking experienced multi-unit operators who possess similar values in line with the culture of the brand and are community-minded to become a part of the best-in-class better biscuit concept and develop franchise territories in new markets throughout the Midwest and Southern regions. For more information on Biscuit Belly franchise opportunities, please contact Lauren.Coulter@biscuit-belly.com or visit www.biscuitbellyfranchise.com.
About Biscuit Belly
Founded by Chad Coulter in 2019, Biscuit Belly is a chef-driven, innovative fast casual breakfast and brunch concept featuring a hearty selection of scratch-made biscuit sandwiches, unique breakfast cocktails and other southern breakfast fare – with a twist. With three locations throughout Louisville, Kentucky the emerging brand has cultivated a huge following of loyal fans who swear by their “Damn Good Biscuits.” Visit http://www.biscuit-belly.com for additional information.
