keep ing it local
Southern Comfort Come as a Cathead Biscuit
by wib middleton
Have you ever imagined how fun it would be to start a restaurant ? You ’ d get to design the interior space , find great wall decor , create an original menu of your favorite fare . As one of the top entrepreneurial fantasies some of us entertain , the reality of the restaurant business is that it ’ s hard work and a never-ending labor of love . For seasoned hospitality professionals , and longtime life partners , Lauren Barrett and Charles Schech that fantasy became the wildly popular Buford ’ s Biscuits in downtown Leesburg despite their launch during the pandemic in August , 2020 . Lauren ’ s food and beverage experience runs deep including her former position as operations manager for the Catoctin Creek Distillery in Purcellville and working for Jason Miller of The Wine Kitchen fame . A culinary school grad , her love is creating and cooking in the Buford ’ s kitchen — from scratch , using only fresh , local ingredients . Really local , not hundreds of miles away
“ local .” Heading to culinary school gave Lauren the well-rounded experience she needed beyond her front of the house management or stints behind the bar . Charles cut his teeth on the corporate side with experience in large banquet management and catering and as general manager of the popular Wine Kitchen in Leesburg . “ I love to cook and create and Charles is very passionate about keeping things on the straight an narrow , the business side . So that just organically worked out for us ,” assures Lauren .
After a few years of being together Lauren and Charles started talking about opening a restaurant together . That ’ s where the Buford ’ s Biscuit origin story came full circle . Traveling all over the south the quest was on to divine the perfect cuisine . Walking into the Biscuit Head restaurant in Asheville , North Carolina was an epiphany . “ I realized that this was the food I grew up on , eating at my grandparents — biscuits and gravy and fried chicken and collards .” That was in the small town of Clintwood , Virginia , the family home , a holler nestled in the beautiful Appalachian mountains just six miles from the Kentucky line . “ I thought ‘ Oh my gosh , there are lines out the door for this southern style cooking ,’” Next thought ? Loudoun County has nothing like this , and it could work !
Not in a hurry , the pair stayed open to finding the right spot to create their vision . Then serendipity happened . An iconic , cozy restaurant space , formerly home to Señor Ramones , Puccios and Balls of Glory , opened up . Lauren and Charles jumped on it . It was January 2020 when they signed the lease . The name Buford honors Lauren ’ s dad and her childhood roots .
Through initial word of mouth and in short order lines were forming down the block on Loudoun Street in Leesburg . Buford ’ s Biscuits , nimble and adapting was doing a huge carry out business for their to-die-for biscuits . These are not ordinary bis-
wander I FALL • winter 2022 31