Call the corporate office of most 30-unit restaurant brands in 2026 and you’re routed through an auto-attendant, a chatbot, or at best a menu of extensions. Call The Big Biscuit’s corporate office in Kansas City and a person picks up. Every time. That’s not an oversight — it’s a decision Chad Offerdahl, the brand’s President and CEO, made on purpose, and it tells you almost everything you need to know about how he runs the company.
This week on the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast, I sat down with Chad to talk about how The Big Biscuit has grown from two locations to more than 30 restaurants across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas — with eight to ten more opening in the next 12 months — without letting technology take over the guest experience. We got into his regional growth strategy, what he actually looks for in a franchisee, why the funkiest breakfast concepts in the country quietly admit their best seller is still bacon and eggs, and the trademarked phrase that guides every menu decision his team makes.
From Two Locations to a Kansas City Institution
The Big Biscuit started in 2000 in Independence, Missouri, founded on two ideas: abundant portions and taking care of people. The biscuits are the namesake for a reason — think softball-sized. Chad and his dad found the original location on a road trip through Kansas City and fell for the old-school diner vibe, the black-and-white photos on the wall, and a menu they resonated with. The founder, Dan, had opened a second location but had no plans to grow beyond that. Chad and his dad made him an offer, acquired the brand in 2009, and set to work systematizing a business that was, in Chad’s words, running entirely on pen and paper — no KDS screens, no inventory system, handwritten everything. They opened a third location a year and a half later and have grown steadily ever since, building out Kansas City before franchising beyond it.
Why Biscuits and Gravy Are Having a Moment
I asked Chad why biscuits — something that’s always been on breakfast menus but rarely the center of the plate — suddenly feel like the thing. His read: the market chased “innovation, innovation, innovation” for years — the funky drink, the funky plate, the next trend — and it’s swinging back toward value and tradition. He said it plainly: at industry conferences, representatives from some of the funkiest, trendiest breakfast concepts in the country have told him, guest to guest, that their top-selling item is still just bacon and eggs. That’s not a knock on innovation. Chad’s point is that people want a reliable, traditional breakfast first, with the option of something fun on top of it — not instead of it.
Growing Region by Region, Not Market by Market
The Big Biscuit is at 30 restaurants and climbing. Where they opened five new locations in the 12 months before we recorded, they’re on pace for eight to ten in the next 12 — what Chad calls hitting the end of the hockey stick. The growth is deliberately regional: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas today, with Texas, Nebraska, and Tennessee next on the list, rather than cherry-picking cities across the map. The payoff shows up before a single store opens. When they built out Wichita, Kansas, the city was already excited about The Big Biscuit arriving — people who’d eaten at a location in Kansas City were asking when it was coming to them. The brand’s name had already traveled beyond its footprint, which meant awareness and community connection were working in their favor before marketing even started.
What He Actually Looks for in a Franchisee
Cultural fit comes first, every time. Chad’s test is simple: do we want to be in the trenches with this person when things get hard, not fighting with them when they do? He credits the franchisees already in the system for getting the brand through COVID because they were exactly that kind of partner. Beyond fit, prior restaurant experience isn’t required — The Big Biscuit will train the concept — but business experience, especially multi-unit experience in any industry, is a real plus. The geographic priority is growing outward from the central U.S., though Chad said he’s in conversations with groups as far out as Ohio and Alabama when the relationship is right. Single-unit operators typically get single-unit markets where they can be the face of the brand locally; groups that want multiple locations take on the larger metros. Either way, he’s not looking for someone parking their money — he’s looking for someone who believes in the brand and is proud to represent it.
Technology as a Supplement, Not a Substitute
This is the heart of the conversation, and it’s where Chad was most direct. His filter for every piece of technology: does it make things faster and easier without losing the soul? Tableside ordering on tablets is the clearest example — done right, it speeds up service and gives servers more time to actually talk to guests. But he was equally clear about what it isn’t: a substitute for training. His team studies how many clicks it takes to ring up an order, not to remove judgment from the process, but to keep the system out of the server’s way so they can still sell, suggest, and read the table. And then there’s the phone. The Big Biscuit could easily route corporate calls through an auto-attendant or an AI system. They don’t, on purpose, because Chad wants every caller to know they’re talking to a human who’s there to take care of them — not the next name in a queue.
Menu Innovation Without Losing the Soul
New menu items start with what guests are actually asking for. Chad pointed to two recent additions — a chicken and waffles line and biscuit sandwiches — that guests were flat-out demanding before the team ran market research and testing to get them right. The second filter is operational simplicity: watch the SKU count, because one ingredient that only shows up on an item you sell five times a day quietly drives up waste, slows ticket times, and drags down the guest experience along with it. Every addition gets weighed against a phrase Chad has actually trademarked: “Don’t Mess With Breakfast.” However far the menu stretches — biscuit sandwiches, chicken and waffles, a fuller beverage menu — the core stays untouched: plate-sized pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs done right. That’s still what most people are walking in the door for.
What to Order
If Chad is bringing someone to The Big Biscuit for the first time, he’s ordering them the chicken fried steak and eggs with biscuits and gravy, plus the Biscuit Trio — a basket with a buttermilk biscuit, a sticky biscuit (biscuit dough cooked in a house-made cinnamon glaze and topped with vanilla icing), and a beignet, made from biscuit dough dipped in French toast batter, fried golden, and dusted in powdered sugar. His own go-to on a Sunday: a ranchero omelet — a Southwestern-style omelet with steak and salsa — with hash browns topped in cheese, onions, and green peppers, plus a side of cinnamon roll pancakes. Cardiologist appointment optional.
Takeaways
- Regional density beats a map full of pins. The Big Biscuit grows outward from Kansas City on purpose, so brand awareness is already built before a new store opens.
- Culture fit comes before capital. Chad screens franchisees for whether he wants to be in the trenches with them long before he looks at what they can write a check for.
- Technology should buy back time for hospitality, not replace it. Tableside ordering only works at The Big Biscuit because it’s paired with training, never instead of it.
- Protect your core menu on purpose. “Don’t Mess With Breakfast” isn’t just a slogan — it’s a trademarked filter every new item has to survive.
- Small human touches are a growth strategy. A person answering the corporate phone is a small thing that says something big about how a brand treats people.
Chad, thank you for making time and for being so open about how you’re building this thing. If you want to learn more about The Big Biscuit or explore franchising, check out bigbiscuitfranchise.com and bigbiscuit.com, and find Chad on LinkedIn for more on what they’re building.
And to our listeners — like I say every time, I know you’ve got lots of choices, so thank you for hanging out with us. If you haven’t already subscribed, please do so, and make it a great day.
