Why Biscuit & Hogs Came To Ogden

Biscuit & Hogs has taken downtown Ogden by storm. People are talking about the waiting lines of an hour or more, the giant pancakes as big as a pizza, the thick-cut pork belly bacon, corn-on-the-cob “ribs,” and drinks served in plastic flamingos.

  Owner Boomer Godsill’s initial plan was to do a “soft” opening, without much fanfare. He anticipated traffic would be slow, to give staffers time to get things running smoothly. But from day one, there were waiting lines that had the staff scrambling.

  “We were busier than what I anticipated,” Godsill told me.

Now you, too, can own a Biscuit & Hogs restaurant. The Idaho company announced that it’s open for franchising, and those interested can shoot an email to franchising@biscuitandhogs.com.

  Founded in Meridian, Idaho in 2020, the restaurant’s menu is “a twist on American classics,” says Godsill.

  He chose to open his next Biscuit & Hogs in Ogden because of his plans to franchise.

“We want to prove to people who want to franchise with us that our menu and brand can operate outside of Idaho,” he said. “Ogden is close to us, and the people have somewhat the same tastes as Idaho. It seemed like the logical step.”

Breakfast is served all day, but I wouldn’t peg it as just merely a breakfast place. How many breakfast places also have a Happy Hour and signature cocktails? There are also lots of interesting sandwiches, burgers, entrees, appetizers and desserts.

   “The majority of our orders, even up to 10 p.m. at night, is breakfast,” said Boomer Godsill, the founder and owner. “But the egg isn’t the main event, we use a lot of different meats in our breakfasts.”

  Also, drinks  — fancy coffees, hot chocolate, cocktails, etc. — are important to the business, Godsill said.

  “Breakfast is our bread and butter, but our drinks are the cherry on the top,” Godsill said. “They make us unique.”

   I interviewed the 34-year-old Godsill last month for a Standard-Examiner story. Usually, I take a photo of the restaurateur to go with the story. But, Boomer declined to be photographed, saying he prefers to stay in the background.

  Some things I noticed about Biscuit & Hogs:

1. Portions are huge. The 15-inch dining plates are heaped with food, “so that everyone who comes here can never leave saying they didn’t get enough food,” said Godsill.

  Godsill’s personal favorite — The Hog breakfast — includes two eggs, pork belly bacon strips, Idaho home fries, and a halved biscuit smothered in country gravy.  That’s definitely enough to “release your inner pig,” as the restaurant’s motto goes.

  Godsill noted that more restaurants are serving smaller portions these days. “But that’s not what we do. When you’re here, you’re going to eat. There’s enough to feed you throughout the day if you want it to.”

  Blame my frugal upbringing, but I don’t like wasting food. And I can’t polish off such large portions — who can? (Who should?) I guess the secret is to split it with a partner (or two), or take the leftovers home in a to-go box for another meal.

  That’s what my friend did with her bacon-wrapped meatloaf, made with a mix of ground chuck, and pork belly bacon, topped with crispy onion straws. There were two large slices, along with two generous sides, so she took the second slice home in a to-go box that her daughter enjoyed later.

  Ditto for my plate of Country Made Finger Steaks  —a beef-y twist on the usual chicken fingers. Steak strips are marinated in garlic and herbs, breaded and fried to a crunchy crisp.  I could only finish about half of them, so I took the rest home for lunch the next day. (A few minutes in the air fryer gets them crispy again, without drying out the steak.)  

  2. There’s lots of bacon, and not just for breakfast.

“We start off with pork belly, cure it and cook it in-house,” said Godsill. This “pork belly bacon” is layered in burgers and sandwiches, diced into meatloaf and salads, and made into a “bacon jam” condiment for burritos and even Bloody Mary drinks.

“Hog style” means whatever the item is, it’s going to be covered in melted sharp cheddar and topped with caramelized onions, sous vide pork belly bites and “hog sauce.” Whew.

 3. There are some unusual appetizers and sides. For instance, the sweet potato tater tots.  And Cob Ribs — corn-on-the-cob that’s been cut lengthwise in quarters and roasted.

  “So it’s like eating a rib, but it’s corn,” Godsill said. “We slather it with barbecue seasonings and flavors. Man, they’re tasty.”

  And there are deep-fried pickles, made with house-made dill pickles with added herbs and spices. My friend and I ordered a plate to share, and they were pretty puckery.

  The mac & cheese has a flavorful hint of heat, as the cheese sauce is actually queso. Boomer said the mac & cheese recipe came from one of his former restaurants, Taco Cow, which was located next to the original Biscuit & Hogs.

  “Biscuit & Hogs got so big that I had to incorporate the Taco Cow space for it, so Taco Cow went away,” he said.

  Godsill currently owns eight restaurants, with more on the way.

 4. Biscuit & Hogs’ story actually begins with the Sunrise Café, started by Boomer’s grandfather, Bob Godsill and dad, Rob Godsill in 1988. Specializing in traditional breakfast classics, it grew to several Idaho locations.

   After Boomer’s grandfather passed away, his dad took it over. And in 2016, Boomer bought his dad out. Biscuit and Hogs became a place to innovate some new ideas that didn’t fit the Sunrise Café’s traditional old-school breakfast menu..

  “We would be doing new menus for Sunrise, and try new ideas, but they didn’t really land,” said Boomer. “So having those ideas, it was pretty easy doing this menu and provide a twist on American classics.”

  He had picked a name for the new restaurant, but wasn’t really sold on it. Then one night at 2 a.m., the name “Biscuit & Hogs” came to him, and “just stuck.”

  It was risky starting a new restaurant during the Covid pandemic, but Godsill felt his business would fail if he didn’t. Most of the Sunrise Cafe’s clientele were age 60-plus, and they weren’t going out due to Covid.

“I had to try a new concept to get new clientele,” Godsill said. “And it worked.”

  Now, two more Biscuit & Hogs are being built in Idaho — in Caldwell and north Meridian.

 4. The Ogden site was a former Iggy’s Sports Grill, and then Cooper’s Restaurant & Sports Bar. Although the address is 2309 Washington Blvd., the entrance is in the The Junction development, next to Laan Thai.

The booths and walls were re-done in silver and black. Boomer said the majority of the Biscuit & Hogs locations will have the same gray and black esthetic — “modern farmhouse” is what he called it.

  But future Biscuit & Hogs probably won’t have as many TVs. The interior is a bit different because of how the original Iggy’s booths were designed to face the big-screen TVs in the center. The Biscuit & Hogs bar is now located in the center.

  “We are a family restaurant, and I hated having a bar be the center of attention,” Boomer said. “We are a place where people like to have fun and might be a bit loud.”

  So there are screens that separate and block the view of the bar from the outer tables.

   Prices range from $4.99 for appetizers to $28.99 for a rib-eye steak. Burgers and sandwiches are around $15-17. Breakfasts are $16-19.

The restaurant is open daily from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.