Marita Swift, VP Growth @ The Big Biscuit

But actually, before we talk about your background, um, I'd like to learn a little bit more about The Big Biscuit because I think most people that will be listening or watching this probably have not heard of The Big Biscuit before.

I know that Franchise Times named you guys a top breakout brand in 2024.

So tell us a bit about the brand, a bit about the footprint, and what makes you guys stand out in the breakfast and lunch daypart.

Thank you.

Okay, I would love to.

So The Big Biscuit is a breakfast and lunch concept out of Kansas City.

We have 31 locations in four states.

We're in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

We have 22 corporate locations, and the rest are franchised.

Um, so we're building our, you know, corporate foundation right alongside of franchising.

Um, we have a very classic offering, so plate-sized pancakes, oversized buttermilk biscuits, traditional egg plates.

Um, you know, we sell a lot of black coffee at The Big Biscuit.

So it's a very nostalgic, classic breakfast offering, very familiar.

Mm-hmm.

Kind of a, you know, kind of a mid- what, what you would kind of think of as a Midwest breakfast.

Gotcha.

And just out of curiosity, since you guys are growing right now, do you think this is gonna remain sort of a Midwest concept, or are you gonna go further east? Are you gonna go further west? What is the crystal ball looking like these days?

We're definitely growing.

Um, we call it sustainable growth 'cause we're very mindfully growing.

Uh, we have our corporate footprint, print, r- uh, growing right alongside our franchise strategy.

Um, so building out a lot of systems here at the corporate office, you know, having a ni- a nice strong VP group, um, directors under them, so really trying to make sure that as we grow, we really are building out that foundation and that support system for ourselves and for our franchisees.

But yeah, we'll definitely expand beyond, um, the four states that we're in right now.

I'm specifically looking at Texas, um, Tennessee.

I've got some good opportunities in the St. Louis market.

Um, but we're open to the who.