After playing a crucial role in the growth of pizza franchise Papa Johns alongside his brother, “Papa John” Schnatter, Chuck Schnatter, a long-time member of the brand’s executive team and investor himself, has learned a great deal about what makes a restaurant franchise succeed. A great menu can draw a crowd, but real systems, standardization and strong unit economics are what build a legacy. That’s what he was focused on when he invested in Biscuit Belly, the 13-unit Southern-style breakfast and brunch franchise.
“You always have to start with the people. You invest in people first and concepts second,” Schnatter said. “In any company, until you have good leadership, you’re not going to have a good concept.”
Chad and Lauren Coulter, co-founders of Biscuit Belly, caught Schnatter’s attention before the biscuit concept even launched.
Schnatter initially partnered with the Coulters on their wine and southern-tapas concept, LouVino. While the concept was successful, the team quickly realized how demanding a chef-driven concept serving the dinner crowd would be. The menu was also so chef-driven that it was difficult to replicate, so they began to pivot. As they thought up Biscuit Belly, the scalability was immediately apparent.
“We felt like Biscuit Belly was a much more repeatable concept than LouVino,” Schnatter said. “Once we had the model, even though it was chef-driven, we could duplicate it … franchise it and grow it ourselves.”
Schnatter also recognized the power of Biscuit Belly’s unique menu. While the brand is focused on biscuits and other Southern breakfast-style foods, there’s enough diversity to build resilience.
“When you’re in pizza, 40 percent of your cost is cheese. So if cheese goes up, your costs go through the roof,” he said. “If you look at our menu, we've got pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, dairy, and wheat. All of those hold about equal weight, so if one goes up, it doesn’t crush our food cost.”
Early on in the concept development process, Schnatter also recognized a massive opportunity in market positioning. Biscuit Belly operates in the breakfast and brunch segment, which is not nearly as saturated as the dinner space. And its colorful, vibrant brand identity appeals to a younger demographic that demands an elevated experience.
“This isn’t your grandfather’s bacon and eggs,” Schnatter said. “Biscuit Belly is the next wave in breakfast. It’s where 18 to 45 year olds want to be.”
Biscuit Belly’s model caters to the “the camera eats first” mentality, and the Instagrammable nature of the food lends itself to social sharing. This is another key driver of brand awareness, turning everyday guests into promoters of the brand — another differentiator Schantter recognizes and loves.
In addition to great food and strong potential in the market, Biscuit Belly’s ability to get into the industry when it did, with a model as strong as it has, has positioned it to capitalize on this “next wave.”
One of the most important advantages Biscuit Belly offers its operators is a more balanced lifestyle. In the traditional restaurant world, much of the demand occurs on nights and weekends, and operators must adjust accordingly. This can be draining for owners, and it can also make staffing difficult.
Biscuit Belly, however, flips this dynamic entirely. Closing in the early afternoon all week, owners benefit from more free time and a one-shift model that makes staffing easier and boosts employee retention.
“Whether you’re an owner or employee, you’re out of there by 3:30 on a Friday. You can still go to your kid’s basketball game or make it to a concert,” Schnatter said. “You can have a life where you’re getting out of work when everyone else in the restaurant world is just arriving at work.”
For Schnatter, the decision to back Biscuit Belly is based on a recognition of infrastructure and the potential for explosive growth. Whether growing from location one to two or 2,000 to 2,001, Schnatter says the growth process requires the same rigorous discipline.
By applying the hard-won lessons of the pizza industry to the breakfast and brunch industry, Schnatter is supporting Biscuit Belly in its strategic approach to national growth.
“I understand what it takes to run a restaurant company and finance a restaurant company. And I’ve been a franchisee with Papa Johns, so I’ve interacted with systems from both the franchisor and franchisee standpoint,” Schnatter said. “The same concepts apply whether you’re selling coffee, chili, pizza or biscuits. The fundamentals are the fundamentals, and you’ve got to follow them.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/biscuit-belly.
Biscuit Belly Franchising
SPONSORED
After helping to build the pizza empire with thousands of locations, Chuck Schnatter applied his expertise to the Southern-inspired concept in the growing breakfast and brunch space.
After playing a crucial role in the growth of pizza franchise Papa Johns alongside his brother, “Papa John” Schnatter, Chuck Schnatter, a long-time member of the brand’s executive team and investor himself, has learned a great deal about what makes a restaurant franchise succeed. A great menu can draw a crowd, but real systems, standardization and strong unit economics are what build a legacy. That’s what he was focused on when he invested in Biscuit Belly, the 13-unit Southern-style breakfast and brunch franchise.
“You always have to start with the people. You invest in people first and concepts second,” Schnatter said. “In any company, until you have good leadership, you’re not going to have a good concept.”
Chad and Lauren Coulter, co-founders of Biscuit Belly, caught Schnatter’s attention before the biscuit concept even launched.
Schnatter initially partnered with the Coulters on their wine and southern-tapas concept, LouVino. While the concept was successful, the team quickly realized how demanding a chef-driven concept serving the dinner crowd would be. The menu was also so chef-driven that it was difficult to replicate, so they began to pivot. As they thought up Biscuit Belly, the scalability was immediately apparent.
“We felt like Biscuit Belly was a much more repeatable concept than LouVino,” Schnatter said. “Once we had the model, even though it was chef-driven, we could duplicate it … franchise it and grow it ourselves.”
Schnatter also recognized the power of Biscuit Belly’s unique menu. While the brand is focused on biscuits and other Southern breakfast-style foods, there’s enough diversity to build resilience.
“When you’re in pizza, 40 percent of your cost is cheese. So if cheese goes up, your costs go through the roof,” he said. “If you look at our menu, we've got pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, dairy, and wheat. All of those hold about equal weight, so if one goes up, it doesn’t crush our food cost.”
Early on in the concept development process, Schnatter also recognized a massive opportunity in market positioning. Biscuit Belly operates in the breakfast and brunch segment, which is not nearly as saturated as the dinner space. And its colorful, vibrant brand identity appeals to a younger demographic that demands an elevated experience.
“This isn’t your grandfather’s bacon and eggs,” Schnatter said. “Biscuit Belly is the next wave in breakfast. It’s where 18 to 45 year olds want to be.”
Biscuit Belly’s model caters to the “the camera eats first” mentality, and the Instagrammable nature of the food lends itself to social sharing. This is another key driver of brand awareness, turning everyday guests into promoters of the brand — another differentiator Schantter recognizes and loves.
In addition to great food and strong potential in the market, Biscuit Belly’s ability to get into the industry when it did, with a model as strong as it has, has positioned it to capitalize on this “next wave.”
One of the most important advantages Biscuit Belly offers its operators is a more balanced lifestyle. In the traditional restaurant world, much of the demand occurs on nights and weekends, and operators must adjust accordingly. This can be draining for owners, and it can also make staffing difficult.
Biscuit Belly, however, flips this dynamic entirely. Closing in the early afternoon all week, owners benefit from more free time and a one-shift model that makes staffing easier and boosts employee retention.
“Whether you’re an owner or employee, you’re out of there by 3:30 on a Friday. You can still go to your kid’s basketball game or make it to a concert,” Schnatter said. “You can have a life where you’re getting out of work when everyone else in the restaurant world is just arriving at work.”
For Schnatter, the decision to back Biscuit Belly is based on a recognition of infrastructure and the potential for explosive growth. Whether growing from location one to two or 2,000 to 2,001, Schnatter says the growth process requires the same rigorous discipline.
By applying the hard-won lessons of the pizza industry to the breakfast and brunch industry, Schnatter is supporting Biscuit Belly in its strategic approach to national growth.
“I understand what it takes to run a restaurant company and finance a restaurant company. And I’ve been a franchisee with Papa Johns, so I’ve interacted with systems from both the franchisor and franchisee standpoint,” Schnatter said. “The same concepts apply whether you’re selling coffee, chili, pizza or biscuits. The fundamentals are the fundamentals, and you’ve got to follow them.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/biscuit-belly.
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