Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN® Announces New President Hire

Management team expanded to support company’s new growth initiatives 

Jim Metevier 

"Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN®, a family-owned restaurant company known for serving locally-sourced, Southern Inspired food made the old-fashioned way, just announced a new executive has joined its leadership team to support the company’s strategic growth initiatives. Jim Metevier (Met TEE vee ay), a seasoned restaurant executive with more than 20 years of experience, was named Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN’s new president. Working with Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN’s CEO Burney Jennings, Metevier will strive to continue to grow sales, reach new audiences and advance the company to become the most preferred, quick casual breakfast restaurant brand in the South. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Jim aboard during this exciting period of growth for Biscuitville,” said Burney Jennings. “His extensive experience building a high-performance company and strong track record of success will add depth to our team and position Biscuitville for an even brighter future. I look forward to working with Jim.” 

It is an opportune time for Metevier to join Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN. Under Jennings’ leadership, the company has experienced 16 consecutive quarters of same store sales growth among its family of 54 restaurants, and this fiscal year, sales are estimated to hit a record $67 million. The recent addition of the company’s new lunch menu to many of its restaurants, coupled with Biscuitville’s expanded use of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and key operational improvements, set the company on a trajectory of unprecedented growth the last several years. 

As president, Metevier will focus on maintaining Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN’s leadership position in the quick casual marketplace and spearheading the company’s strategic business development. These growth initiatives include the addition of new restaurants, facility renovations, a company-wide rollout of its new lunch menu, operations and infrastructure improvements, and the addition of more staff to support new restaurant expansion. 

Metevier brings a wealth of experience to Biscuitville’s leadership team and has an extensive knowledge base of operations, finance, development, marketing and strategic planning. Before joining Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN, Metevier worked for Yum! Brands for 22 years. Yum! Brands is one of the world’s largest restaurant companies and includes KFC®, Pizza Hut® and Taco Bell® restaurant brands. 

As territory general manager of the Eastern United States at KFC, Metevier led the turnaround of 1,000 stores bringing the region to rank #1 in the system. This accomplishment, coupled with a successful launch of a series of initiatives which significantly improved system performance, earned Metevier a promotion to become KFC’s chief operations officer in 2011. Metevier held this position for two years, before his last role as chief restaurant excellence officer. 

“I look forward to joining the Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN family and building on the company’s success of the last 50 years,” said Metevier. “As a team, we will continue to enhance the guest experience in our restaurants and drive-thrus, reach out to new and younger guests, improve operational efficiencies, and ensure our food is the freshest, best-tasting, scratch-made food in the South.” 

Before launching his career in the restaurant business, Metevier attended the University of Central Florida, where he received an undergraduate degree in psychology and a Master of Business Administration. Metevier relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Beth, and their three kids, Tyler, Rachel, and Ryan. 

About Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN® 

Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN is a family-owned company that offers guests an authentic Southern Inspired dining experience. Known for making food the old-fashioned way, Biscuitville uses fresh, authentic ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible, and provides unparalleled hospitality. The company was founded in 1966 when owner Maurice Jennings opened two pizza restaurants in Burlington. After several years, the company added signature, made-from-scratch biscuits to its menu that were so well received, business boomed and the Biscuitville brand evolved. In 2014, the company expanded its lunch menu to include fresh-made sandwiches and sides, now available at select Triad locations and rolling out to other locations by the end of 2016. Today, Biscuitville employs over 900 people and operates 54 restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia. Biscuitville serves breakfast all day from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offers a lunch menu from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at select Triad locations. For more information, visit www.biscuitville.com."

- A Press Release

Biscuitville Crowns 2015 Biscuit-Making Champions

Biscuitville 2015 Bake Off_Crew Champion
Maroua Abbou with Burney Jennings CEO
and Connie Bennett COO

Greg Kearns and Maroua Abbou win 15th annual

Bake-Off competition to make the perfect biscuit

"GREENSBORO, NC (July 2, 2015) – This week, Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN^® (www.biscuitville.com), named the grand champions of its 15^th annual Bake-Off competition. The biscuit-making contest included more than a hundred Biscuitville team members from the 54 company-owned restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia competing to be named the supreme biscuit maker. Greg Kearns, operator of the N. Fayetteville St. Biscuitville in Asheboro, North Carolina, was named Grand Champion biscuit maker among managers, and Maroua Abbou of the S. Main St. Biscuitville in Graham, North Carolina took the 2015 title among crew members. This is both Kearns’ and Abbou’s first time winning the Champion titles.

Biscuitville 2015 Bake Off_Management Champion Greg Kearns
with Burney Jennings CEO and Connie Bennett COO.

“At Biscuitville, we pride ourselves in making high quality, authentic southern food, and mouthwatering made-from-scratch biscuits,” said Biscuitville Chief Operations Officer Connie Bennett. “Our team members strive to deliver Biscuitville’s brand promise to all of our guests, and this competition is an opportunity for them to demonstrate their biscuit-making skills, win a big cash prize and obtain sheer bragging rights. Among the winners, Greg is a skilled leader and biscuit-maker, and Abbou, who has been with Biscuitville for just over eight months, is a shining star in our restaurant.”

The road to the Bake-Off championship, and its $1,000 grand prize, is arduous. Contestants must first prevail in their home restaurants, then at district competitions to qualify for the final round. At the Bake-Off Grand Finale held on June 29, two finalist groups competed amongst themselves to win the biscuit champion title within their respective crew member and manager groups. They showcased their mastery of measuring, mixing and kneading in the product development test kitchen at Biscuitville’s headquarters in Greensboro. Judges assessed each contestant’s ability to follow Biscuitville’s procedural criteria and certification techniques, including accurate measuring, and proper dough rolling and flexing. Final assessments score each contestant’s ability to make the perfect biscuit based on its golden brown color, texture, height, 3 inch diameter size, weight and overall appearance.

Since 1966, making delicious, scratch-made biscuits the old-fashioned way has been serious business for Biscuitville, and it is one of the primary reasons for the company’s success. While Biscuitville’s coveted biscuit recipe only calls for three basic ingredients – flour, buttermilk and shortening – making the perfect biscuit requires special talent and a mastery of skills. Producing hundreds of biscuits each and every day with perfection, precision and pride is culinary artistry at its finest.

About Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN^®:

Biscuitville FRESH SOUTHERN is a family-owned company headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company was founded in 1966 when owner Maurice Jennings opened two restaurants in Burlington, North Carolina. After several years, the company added its signature, made-from-scratch biscuits to its menu that were so well-received, business boomed and the Biscuitville brand evolved. Today, Biscuitville employs nearly 900 people and operates 54 restaurants in North Carolina and Virginia. The company, which built its success on making guests a priority and serving fresh, authentic food with integrity, recently introduced its FRESH SOUTHERN lunch menu that includes fresh-made sandwiches and sides. Biscuitville serves breakfast all day from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit www.biscuitville.com for more information."

Photo credit: Bill Jarrett

- A Press Release