Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Bray
Hi Lindsay, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My father, Don Wilson, started his food service career as an owner of 2 diners. After moving on from those he began a 34-year career in food service sales, with 26 years of those being with Sysco Foodservice. I began a career with Sysco in 2007 and worked in sales as well. I stepped away from Sysco in 2014 when I was pregnant with my 2nd child, but I had been in and around restaurants my entire life. Food has always been a passion for our family and over the years we’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible restauranteurs in four different states throughout the south as Sysco. The company moved my father between five different divisions, and he retired from the food service industry as a division President, he and my mom took a few months off to travel and have some down time. But retirement didn’t suit dad he decided he needed something to keep him busy. His dream had always been to get back to his roots and open another diner and a field trip I took with my son to a strawberry farm is what sparked the idea for Twisted Biscuit Diner. After our berry picking, we came home with a ton of fresh berries and needed to use them before they went bad; so, I had the idea to put the berries into my biscuit dough. When I brought my dad a pan of fresh strawberry biscuits to share, he fell in love with the idea. From the moment he tasted them he knew the concept for our new diner, and we hit the ground running. Our goal was to take a classic southern diner and “twist” it just like I had “twisted” a normal biscuit. We opened in November 2020 and through word of mouth our business has grown. We are so incredibly fortunate to have our wonderful customer base that have become like family. We are constantly trying to come up with innovative and “twisted” specials to surprise guests, while at the same time offering traditional breakfast and lunch favorites.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We had been planning to open in May of 2020 and were deep in renovations on the building when COVID hit, and restaurants were forced into takeout only. Materials became hard to come by and construction slowed as a result. We used the time to really nail down our menu and systems and make sure we had a solid opening gameplan. When the lockdown was lifted, and businesses began opening back up we were ready. There were the normal logistical hiccups that any new restaurant has but we were able to get through them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
With our years with Sysco, spending time in so many restaurants and learning the backend of all Sysco has to offer it allowed us to have a clear idea of how we wanted to run our diner. We wanted unique biscuits; I think I’m up to roughly 30 specialty flavors now. Dad always says that my job was to put stuff in the biscuits, and he’ll put stuff on them. We scratch make every gravy and have become known for our tomato bacon gravy and our crawfish and mushroom gravy. We also offer a full bar, with not just beer and wine but also spirits, making us a brunch destination. Weekends have become so popular because on Saturday we serve our locally famous shrimp and grits and Sunday we do a variety of benedicts with house made hollandaise. Our food is something dad and I are really proud of, but I think what sets us apart the most is our staff. I’d argue we have one of the fastest kitchens in the area, our servers are top notch, and we generally have the best time together as we serve our guests. Those in the know sit at the bar on the window side just to hear the banter between the staff or to catch my dad singing.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I was not a big baker before this restaurant. Other than baking plain biscuits every now and again I steered clear of baking entirely. When I had the idea for the strawberry biscuits, I wasn’t even sure it would work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.twistedbiscuitdiner.com/
- Instagram: @twistedbiscuitdiner
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/TwistedBiscuitDiner
