The smells of a country breakfast wafted out Windy Hollow Biscuit House as they prepared for their soft opening Friday morning. Inside, owner Evelyn Miller could hardly contain her emotions when it was time to open the doors. Upon entry, patrons will pass a country store on the way to their table, and the walls are fully decked with country and western memorabilia.
The restaurant, which is going in the former El Toribio building at 630 Emory Drive in Wesley Park Plaza, will be open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch on Fridays-Sundays. The Sunday morning buffet at the Windy Hollow Restaurant and Museum will continue to be offered.
Asked what it means to finally open the doors, Miller had to fight back tears because it’s so meaningful.
Her daughter, Hallie McCarty, said “This is 4+ years in the making. We’ve been talking about doing the Biscuit House for a really long time.”
Miller said they first started talking about adding the restaurant in 2017 or 2018. She said they were ready to “take the plunge” in March of 2020, just a week before the coronavirus caused global disruption.
“We decided not to (go forward at that time) and I decided to work on the Speedway instead,” she said. “I knew what that would take because I’ve done it before and it’s my property. The Biscuit House was an unknown. So it’s taken a long time to get here.”
Miller said they were initially looking to put the new restaurant in a strip mall. Where they ended up, though, is a location that they actually looked at multiple years ago when they were discussing if they were going to move Windy Hollow Restaurant from KY 81.
They didn’t want to move that restaurant, but when the space on Emory Drive was still available they jumped at the chance to use it for the Biscuit House even though it’s “twice the size” they had planned for.
As she looked over the store and the items on the walls, Miller again was emotional as she said it was all to honor her late father.
Miller said while the restaurant will only have set hours on Fridays-Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., they’ll have various dinners and events through the weeks. She said the space will also be available to rent. She said nothing is changing at the Windy Hollow Restaurant, which is open on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“I just want to thank everybody that’s helped and listened to me over the last 4 years,” Miller said. “It’s been a long road to get here, but we’re finally here and we’re excited to serve the community. I hope that they enjoy what we put together.”
