Biscuits are this new shop’s bread and butter. All Hail the Biscuit, owned by Josh and Nicole House, was once just an occasional pop-up that had customers lined up around the block, but it will now become its own brick-and-mortar shop thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter campaign.
“We had a really strong core of people who have supported us for a long time, so we knew we would have support,” Josh House says. “But we never anticipated anything like this.”
According to House, the Kickstarter campaign reached its goal of $15,000 in 40 hours after its initial launch. Within a few days, the total amount of donations has nearly doubled to over $25,000 — and the campaign still has 30 days left to go.
House said the widely successful launch is a testament of the support that he and his team have received over the years.
House’s first business, Pickles & Bones Barbecue, also had humble beginnings. In 2015, House was selling barbecue out of a trailer in a parking lot until community support allowed for Pickles & Bones Barbecue to become a brick-and-mortar shop in 2017.
All Hail the Biscuit also began as a pop-up shop in 2019, and the overwhelming demand was immediate, House says.
“For the first pop-up we did, we opened at 9 a.m. and we had to put up a sold-out sign in 15 minutes,” he says.
The initial idea for All Hail the Biscuit was a way to pay tribute to House’s father-in-law, a West Virginia native who would cook homemade biscuits with sausage gravy every time they visited.
“We’ve always wanted to do a second business, so we did a pop-up as an homage to him and our love of biscuits,” House says.
House and his wife are also considered biscuit buffs, having visited multiple scratch-made biscuit eateries across the country.
For their own spin on the classic dish, House’s wife, Nicole, created the “best of all worlds” buttermilk biscuit recipe that creates smooth, layered bread with a cold buttery polish.
“It has the flavor profile of her father’s with our own techniques,” House says.
But biscuits aren’t the only item on the menu. All Hail the Biscuit will feature breakfast and lunch dishes such as sandwiches, fried chicken and salads.
House planned to feature several pop-ups of All Hail the Biscuit throughout 2020 but canceled when the COVID-19 pandemic hit due to safety concerns over the long lines.
When they found a perfect location, nestled in the business district of Miami Township, House decided to bring All Hail the Biscuit permanently to the community.
According to the Kickstarter campaign, “You'll be able to grab a good cup of coffee, brisket biscuit, or tasty salad and enjoy it in the comfort of our dining room, on the patio, or on the run.”
Since the Kickstarter has already reached its goal, the plan for All Hail the Biscuit is still firmly on track, House says. They close on the building next month and will start construction soon after that.
While COVID-19 first posed a threat to their schedule of pop-up shops, it has also created a new long-term business opportunity, according to House.
“While there’s a lot of places that are going out of business, it’s also a good time to expand business if you have the ability to do it,” House says. “There’s an increased pool of talented people who need jobs now more than ever.”
House described this process as both “challenging and rewarding” and appreciated the support that the community has given him.
All the Hail the Biscuit is slated to open this summer at 887 1/2 State Route 28, Miami Township.
