KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big Biscuit, a chain brunch restaurant headquartered in Prairie Village, will reopen its Blue Springs and Independence locations after suddenly closing in mid-November.
The Gerson family, who has independently owned and operated the Blue Springs and Independence restaurants since 2000, closed the two locations after The Big Biscuit founder Dan Gerson passed away in September.
Company president Chad Offerdahl announced Tuesday the chain finalized the purchases of the two locations and a reopening date will be announced "in the coming weeks."
Offerdahl later said in an interview with KSHB 41 they will reopen by the end of the month.
"My family and I made the difficult decision to close the Independence and Blue Springs locations after my father's passing,” Luke Gerson said in a written statement. “Today’s sale of these two restaurants to The Big Biscuit will preserve my father’s legacy of success under the leadership and guidance of Chad and his team.”
Offerdahl shared there will be minimal updates and improvements to the buildings and The Big Biscuit aims to preserve the restaurant's history.
“Like so many in Kansas City, we continue to mourn the untimely passing of our friend, Dan Gerson,” Offerdahl said in a statement. “We are eager to re-open these original Big Biscuit restaurants and serve the communities that have supported them for years."
The sudden closing of the two Gerson family-owned locations left many without jobs before the Thanksgiving holiday, including Silvia Sermiento.
“It’s been a toll. I feel like this holiday season didn’t feel very festive," Sermiento said."I am glad I was able to give my children some stuff, but it is a fraction of what I have been able to provide in the past and that did not feel good at all.”
Sermiento is a mother of three. She said she sent out applications to almost 20 jobs, ultimately ending up at another breakfast chain.
Offerdahl said a few employees are rejoining the team, but Sermiento said she will not be one of them.
“It meant something to me, and for you to rip the rug out from underneath me and then, 'Oh, but you can come back.' But what about the two months that I’ve spent flailing trying to frantically fix my family, fix financial situations?" she said. "It’s a lot and I can’t go back to that.”
Both restaurants will carry the current Big Biscuit menu.
The Big Biscuit is currently hiring staff for both locations and encourages former employees who were staffed by the Gerson family to apply.
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