Painting by Amber Caldwell
The not-so-secretive pop-up brunches of Hot Box Biscuit Club won’t soon be so hush-hush.
Hot Box Biscuit Club announced plans to put down more permanent roots at 313 South Main St., next door to the newest Gypsy Scoops ice cream shop that opened last week.
The Art Deco building has the feel of an Edward Hopper classic diner painting, with its curved wall of windows — designer and illustrator Amber Caldwell has already painted one of Hot Box Biscuit Club's first brick and mortar location.
The 2,500-square-foot space will have a "super casual vibe," says Sarah Hooton, who co-founded Hot Box Biscuit Club with Matthew Mobley. "We are smack dab in the middle of build-out now."
The duo is anticipating a late July or early August opening.
Hooton and Mobley met while teaching classes together at the former Dallas Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School. Hooton is the cooking school manager at Fort Worth's Central Market, and Mobley moved to Fort Worth a few years ago and has been busy catering and working as private chef.
They began hosting Hot Box Biscuit Club pop-ups together two and a half years ago. Most events have been sellouts, mostly thanks to their creative biscuit sandwiches. Mobley and Hooton have also been able to collaborate with local companies like Brix Barbecue and Sweet Lucy’s Pies — a tradition that will continue at the brick-and-mortar.
The new restaurant will serve breakfast and lunch to start and will include some of Hot Box Biscuit Club's greatest hits — like its popular "Paris Hilton...That's Hot,” with layers of fried chicken "drowned in Louisiana hot sauce and topped with whipped honey butter melting all over a buttermilk biscuit," Hooton says.
The restaurant will also serve brunch-focused cocktails and a selection of local beers, along with a few flavors of pie. Two that will definitely make the menu include: Mary's Chocolate Cream Pie (named for Hooton's grandmother, Mary) and her classic buttermilk pie. Seasonal pies like peach will stop in on occasion.
"We'll see what sells and adjust to suit our customers," Hooton says.
