Big Biscuit opening on the west side just the beginning of the chain’s plans for Wichita
Earlier this month, I reported that Kansas City-based breakfast chain The Big Biscuit was coming to Wichita. But besides the address for the new restaurant — 2330 N. Maize Road — I didn’t have much more information.
Since then, I’ve been able to speak with Chad Offerdahl, who is president and co-CEO of The Big Biscuit chain, which has 28 restaurants across four states. And the news for Wichita is even bigger than I originally reported.
Offerdahl said that The Big Biscuit is aiming to have its first Wichita restaurant open in the former Las Catrinas space near 21st and Maize sometime in the spring of 2025. The company will be able to pinpoint a more exact date, he said, once it starts construction.
But that restaurant is not the only one the company has planned for Wichita. It’s “actively working” on more locations and hopes to open three to five restaurants here, he said.
“We are excited for and committing to Wichita,” said Offerdahl, who runs the restaurant with his father, David.
The Big Biscuit started in 2000, when restaurateur Dan Gerson opened the first one in Independence, Missouri. Five years later, he added a second in Blue Springs, Missouri.
The Offerdahls soon discovered the restaurant and “fell in love with the concept,” Chad said.
“We met with Dan and wanted to learn what his intentions were with the restaurant, but he had no intention of doing anything with The Big Biscuit beyond his two restaurants,” Chad said. “We told him, ‘We see a great opportunity with this. We love this brand and think we can grow it and expand it.’”
The family bought the restaurant concept from Gerson, though he kept his original restaurants in Independence and Blue Springs. (After Gerson died unexpectedly in September 2023, the Offerdahls bought those as well.)
The Big Biscuit now has restaurants in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and Arkansas. Though most are in the Kansas City area, the company now has restaurants in Missouri towns like Springfield, St. Joseph and Joplin as well as in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The chain’s first Arkansas restaurant opened in Fayetteville in September.
The owners say that they know many Wichitans have visited their restaurants in the Kansas City area over the years and become fans. The company has been looking at Wichita property for some time, he said, and checked out several spaces before they found the one they wanted.
Chad Offerdahl said that the owner of the property on Maize Road actually approached The Big Biscuit and suggested that the Offerdahls consider it for their first Wichita restaurant. The space turned out to be perfect.
“We’ve had our eyes on Wichita for quite some time,” Offerdahl said. “We’re a family-owned and operated business. We’re not some major corporation. So we have to be very specific and diligent on where we focus our efforts.”
The Big Biscuit serves a big menu of breakfast dishes including biscuits and gravy, omelets, pancakes, Benedicts, waffles, french toast and breakfast sandwiches. It also serves lunch items like salads, burgers, sandwiches and fried chicken strips.
Big Biscuit menu
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