"We have a huge fan base in that part of town," says Bob Schmied, who joined Denver Biscuit Company five years ago as operating partner. "We've been researching the real estate down there for three to four years."
One of the selling features of the new location was the former burger joint's drive-thru setup, which appealed to the company because of the surprising success it has had shifting to more takeout and delivery since the beginning of the pandemic. But the freestanding building also sits in the middle of a big parking lot, some of which will be converted into outdoor seating. Schmied says the plan is to build a full-service patio that will seat ninety to a hundred guests in an oasis-style setting with landscaping, misters in the summer, gas heating in the winter and an outdoor bar.
Drew Shader founded Denver Biscuit Company thirteen years ago, bringing Southern biscuits to 3237 East Colfax Avenue, where he was already running his first bar, Atomic Cowboy. A Fat Sully's walk-up window was also added there, and the food-and-booze trio soon spread to 141 South Broadway and 4275 Tennyson Street. In 2017, Shader opened the first solo Denver Biscuit Company inside Aurora's Stanley Marketplace, and he has since added locations with all three concepts (plus his Frozen Gold soft-serve ice cream) in Colorado Springs and Kansas City, Missouri.
Denver Biscuit Company's second location on Broadway is part of Atomic Cowboy and includes a Fat Sully's walk-up window.
Danielle Lirette
Those biscuits are pretty versatile, though, coming in a number of hefty sandwich configurations as well as plates like biscuits with jambalaya, biscuit pot pie, biscuit French toast and even a biscuit cinnamon roll. Many of the sandwiches are named after Denver streets, and the company added a new one just for the Kansas City market when that location opened. "We haven't come up with a Centennial-specific sandwich yet, but I'd be surprised if we don't add one," Schmied says.
Atomic Provisions, the parent company for all of the concepts, has managed to keep business steady through the pandemic thanks to walk-up windows at several of the locations, plus support "from our incredible customers and hardworking team," according to Schmied. The shift to more outdoor seating and takeout orders over the past twelve months has helped the company recognize these changes as permanent ways to grow its customer base, including in Centennial.
The home of the former fast-food burger joint, located in the Quebec Village shopping center just off County Line Road, will receive a complete overhaul in the coming months and is expected to open in September or October. See the Denver Biscuit Company website for details on the other six locations.
