Text by Aliza Baker
Holler & Dash might have closed on 18th Street, but biscuits weren’t gone for long before Maple Street Biscuit Company opened in its place in late May. So there’s no need to fear if you were missing fried chicken and goat cheese atop a flaky biscuit! You can stop by for one Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. If you stop by on the weekend, they close at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and are open 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Sundays. To learn more about Maple Street’s mission and, of course, menu, we chatted with its Community Manager Troy Harrington as opening day approached.
First of all, can you tell us a little bit about how Maple Street Biscuit Company got started?
Gus Evans and Scott Moore were friends and church members from Jacksonville who came together and came up with a whacky idea to start a biscuit place. They had locals come to their homes to try the recipes. Their community picked items for the menu and the name. Scott started working on a list of names he thought would work for the restaurant, and his neighbors suggested that the name have “maple” in the title since a lot of the recipes have maple flavoring.
So, let’s talk food. Tell us about the menu!
It’s comfort food with a twist. Everything is centered around the biscuit. We use artisan flour, pure butter instead of lard and a touch of maple syrup to make them. My favorite item on the menu has to be The Squawking Goat. It’s a flaky biscuit with a hormone-free fried chicken breast covered with goat cheese and pepper jelly. It has even been featured on Food Network! Another great item is The Five and Dime, which is a flaky biscuit with a fried chicken breast topped with pecanwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and our house-made sausage gravy. The Farmer has the pecanwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and our delicious apple butter. We make our apple butter fresh inside each restaurant. They are all crazy good.
Is there anything to order in addition to biscuits?
We have some delicious waffles and serve oatmeal and grits. We have a vegetarian bowl with a tomato-based sauce, feta, basil and two sunny side eggs as well. We have four different varieties of coffee plus espresso and lattes. Our most popular coffee is the Maple Tap, which has a nice maple flavor. We have an orange juicer on our front counter that squeezes it in front of you while you wait and tea made in-house.
How did the decision come about to buy out Holler & Dash, and what are some differences between Holler & Dash and Maple Street?
We were able to form a partnership with Cracker Barrel, the parent company of Holler & Dash. The ambiance will be different, and it follows a maple theme. We have a giant maple leaf in our lobbies and pictures of different maple assorted things. We also have our own coffee roasting company.
How does Maple Street give back and serve the community?
We are always involved in our communities with what is needed at the time. We get here early in the morning from 6-7 a.m. and open our lobby to various civic or church groups to use it as a meeting spot and allow them to have our coffee for free before we open at 7 a.m. We love to pick up the banner of something happening in our neighborhoods. For instance, when the threat of COVID-19 became more prominent, our St. Augustine location started a grocery store for the community so that residents didn’t have to go so far to get toilet paper and other basics. During this pandemic season, we have given away hundreds of meals in the communities that we serve. We also have a program where the customers can pay for the meal of a first responder, and we will take it to them.
