When Sam and Anna Russell opened The Buttered Biscuit in Northwest Arkansas in 2017, they had very clear goals in mind for the restaurant. They wanted to offer made-from-scratch cooking with the best ingredients, served up with the southern hospitality that makes the region so welcoming. At the same time, they wanted their restaurant to be something good for the community, providing jobs and enhancing the local economy. The philosophy that permeated The Buttered Biscuit helped make it a success, and enabled the Russells to expand to three other locations in Northwest Arkansas.
It wasn’t long before Russell saw the potential for greater growth. He partnered with Starrdesign, Charlotte, NC, to create a prototype that would position The Buttered Biscuit for long-term success. “I knew from my first meeting with Starr that he could help us realize our goals,” Russell says. “He approaches projects with proven principles, backed up with a combination of data and confidence in his own experience.”
Working together, they created a business model and design that is not only easily replicable as The Buttered Biscuit enters new locations, but helps ensure that the values the Russells imbued in their first restaurant remain true in each new location.
Creating the Right Atmosphere
With four restaurants already up and running, it was important to get a good handle on the company’s brand before expanding further. “Having a clear identity, a primary message, is what drives all of the other factors within a foodservice operation,” Starr says. “The brand is what sets the guest’s expectations, and a successful operation has to deliver on that consistently, in all aspects of the business.”
For The Buttered Biscuit, the brand identity is centered around the core values of scratch-made food served in a place that feels like home. That starts at the entrance, where blue awnings decorated with cheerful buttercups and comfortable benches create a front porch feel to welcome guests to the restaurant.
Once inside, special attention was paid to imbue coziness, to further enhance the feeling of being in a home-like atmosphere. Simple architectural elements such as low booth walls and a ceiling accent feature helps create zones within the dining area to emphasize the cozy feel. At the same time, the zones help keep the energy of the restaurant alive even when it’s not completely full. The different zones also have their own type of furnishings. Tufted booths provide comfortable seating for families or small groups, and high-top tables along the windows are a good option for a quicker dining experience. A large wooden table serves as a focal point when entering the restaurant, while also providing space for large groups to dine like a family at home.
In addition to the furnishings, the décor also plays a big part in contributing to the overall atmosphere. Starrdesign’s own graphic design team created a couple of unique pieces to complement the yellow and blue themed plates hanging on the walls. A large print depicting art drawn in flour emphasizes the scratch-made traditions of The Buttered Biscuit. A rolling pin wall that acts as a divider between the waiting area and the dining area also embodies that philosophy while providing entertainment for kids as they wait to be seated.
Bringing the Brand into the Kitchen
While the dining area sets the stage for The Buttered Biscuit, the kitchen is truly the heart of the operation. A large window opens up the work area for full view from the dining area, allowing guests to feel like they’re part of things and putting the scratch-made process on full display.
Getting quality food, piping hot, out to customers is central to the scratch-made emphasis of the brand. The Starrdesign team worked with Russell and his team to streamline the workflow and order of operations, utilizing equipment to its fullest extent to maximize the efficiencies in the kitchen and enable the team to produce food at a consistent quality any time of day at any location.
After observing the team at work and analyzing data collected over time, some of Starrdesign’s recommendations included these highlights:
Prep process. In addition to the scratch-made biscuits that are the namesake of The Buttered Biscuit, there are a lot of other things that are handmade each day, include gravy, jams and jellies. A FireX tilt skillet to improve consistency with each batch. The insulated skillet is fully programmable, which allows operators to produce top-quality gravy and other menu items with a push of a button. Another improvement in this area included the addition of a blast chiller to retain the quality of produce that is pre-cooked.
Production. For a breakfast concept, egg dishes are important. Switching from omelettes to egg scrambles allowed all of the egg dishes to be cooked in one station. In order to make better use of the griddle, they brought in a stepped-up range top for easier access the burners in the back. Now, with the combination of new equipment and switching to scrambles, one person can work that station, using the back burners for fillings and then bringing it down to lower heat for the eggs.
The griddle was originally being used to cook the potatoes as well, which slowed production. By taking that item to the combi ovens in the prep line there is less chaos at the griddle during peak load times. Another improvement came with the installation of Pitco fryers. The new equipment’s self-filter process helps ensure the consistency of the oil is always clean, so the chicken comes out the same quality every time, and takes the same amount of time to cook, whether it’s the first drop of the day or the hundredth.
Expo station. A simple addition of an ice cream cooler in this station allowed the popular acai bowls to be prepared fresh in the kitchen. Before the redesign, the bowls were pre-portioned and put in a freezer, where service staff would do the toppings before delivering them to tables.
Holding. Keeping each item as fresh as possible until time to be plated is just as important as the prep and cooking. Two new additions helped improve consistency in this area. A Marshall Air holding cabinet keeps the potatoes and waffles hot and crispy, which means these items can be cooked early in the combi oven to prepare for peak times. And to help keep the biscuit in its place of glory, a warming shelf was installed where guests can see it through the big window between the dining area and the kitchen.
“Starr and his team take a big picture look at the operation, including labor hours, how many seats are in the dining area, what menu items are popular and how you manage food quality,” Russell says. “Armed with that information they’re able to work backward to create a design that has the right equipment and workflow to build an efficient, productive kitchen.
Since partnering with Starrdesign, The Buttered Biscuit has opened one new location and is in the process of construction on another one. The hard work on improving efficiencies and honing in the brand has already paid off, with the restaurant seeing sales 33 percent higher than the original expectations.
“Thanks to all these changes in equipment and workflow, we’re seeing consistent quality of food across the arc of the day, as well as a reduction in training,” Russell says. “Overall, we’ve seen easier operations and better consistency, and we’re excited to keep adding locations to our portfolio.”