Coming to West Asheville: Biscuit Head

Photo by Max Cooper

More breakfast foods on the way to Haywood Road

When Jason Roy talks about biscuits, he means cat heads — so called for their size. He’s talking big, flaky mounds of butter and white flour baked golden-brown.

He’s the co-owner of Biscuit Head, the homestyle eatery coming to West Asheville. Last week, he leased the Tolliver's Crossing space at 733 Haywood Road, next door to Isis Restaurant and Music Hall.

Biscuit Head will serve quick, hearty, biscuit-centric meals, featuring counter service and a self-serve jam bar.

“That's one thing that's tough in this town — if you want to go out and get a good breakfast, it takes a long time,” Roy says. “You can do a lot with a biscuit plate. It's a humble ingredient, but it's also a blank palette.”

The eatery will serve breakfast and lunch. However, Roy and his wife and co-owner, Carolyn, have been night owls until now. Jason is the chef at Lexington Avenue Brewery, and Carolyn works the bar. With Biscuit Head, they want to create a family business that will allow them to spend more time together, both at work and at home. Their 8-year-old son, Cameron, is also excited about the venture. “It's going to be nice to have dinner together every night the three of us and be in a normal routine,” Carolyn says.

The Roys will combine the best of both of their backgrounds to create the menu; Carolyn hails from Lancaster, Pa. (Amish country), and Jason grew up in Georgia. “It's richness that's kind of the name of the game with both cultures,” Jason says, adding that lighter fare like granola will be part of the menu in addition to buttery biscuits. “We've got to find a way to make something that's super-good and super-rich and decadent and, at the same time, have something that's light and refreshing and palate cleansing.”

Just as Biscuit Head is a family project, it's also a project designed for families. “We want to make it a family space, too — a place where families feel comfortable coming, and kids can play,” Jason says. He wants to have a kids’ area with games and playful colors, he says.

There will be plenty of attractions for adults, too.“It's going to be a balance,” Carolyn says. “When we look for where we want to go have breakfast, we definitely pick somewhere where we can get a mimosa.”

Jason is excited about serving up creative Champagne cocktails as well as some hefty, grown-up-size specials. He enjoys creating playful, one-off dishes. “I can't not just make stuff,” he says, explaining that biscuits, while simple, will give him plenty of room to experiment with gravies, toppings, flours and gluten-free recipes.

The Roys hope to open Biscuit Head just in time for patio weather. Their new space boasts a substantial outdoor area (in addition to plenty of parking). “We're going to start work the first of March, and we want to be open mid-April, [early] May,” Jason says. “But, you know, things take time. Who knows how long it's going to end up taking?”

In the meantime, the couple will stay busy at LAB. Jason will continue to oversee the menu there, even after Biscuit Head opens, and he'll also help create Stirhaus, the Asian-inspired eatery that LAB owners are planning to open next door to the brewery.

Roy first told Xpress about Biscuit Head in December 2012. Since then, he says he's scaled back the menu concept somewhat, but he adds that those details are still in the works.

For more information about Biscuit Head, visit biscuitheads.com or see the restaurant's Facebook page.