BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe Serves More Than Just Biscuits
BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe in Brooklyn, New York, is serving up more than what their name entails. Fresh, flaky, and buttery biscuits are certainly one reason to visit this charming bodega-turned-cafe, but you’ll want to visit for another reason, too: community. John and Treva Chadwell, the husband and wife duo running BeeHive Oven, are constantly making sure their space is an inviting place for their neighbors.
The Chadwells consider the BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe to be your third place. “Most people crave a third place,” says John. “You have your home, and work, but then you want that third place where you can go and just hang out.” He understands that you definitely have options when it comes to where you’re going to eat (especially in New York City where there are literally thousands of restaurants), but one of their goals is to make their cafe your place.
And people are definitely making it their spot. In fact, positive responses about BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe helped make it one of Yelp’s top 100 businesses in the country. John and Treva saw it as a completely unexpected honor, and were thrilled they were recognized by a platform where people can voice their opinions. “Word-of-mouth business is one of the best types of business,” John says. He appreciates that people come in based on good things they’ve read and heard about their restaurant. Of course, not all reviews are positive, which is why John says constructive criticism is one of the best ways you can become better at your job.
They’re also okay with being called second best, which isn’t something most restaurant business owners willingly admit. But when your number one selling item is biscuits, he realizes they may not make them exactly like your grandma used to make them. “We’re okay being second best,” he explains. “We never want to be better than your grandma; we can’t replace the experience that you had as a kid. However, if you come in here and you think about your grandma or our biscuits remind you of a positive experience, and you leave with that feeling, then we’ve done our job.”
As for their buttermilk biscuits, they’re all made and rolled out by hand, and are Treva’s masterpiece. She’s a math teacher turned classically trained chef, a recipe developer, a food stylist, and has worked with the Food Network, the CookingChanneltv.com, and well-known celebrity chefs. She’s also developed more than 2,000 recipes, but it all comes down to simplicity and the biscuit.
“Treva says it best,” John declares, “She says she likes feeding people food that is simply beautiful and delicious, and that perfectly describes BeeHive Oven and their biscuits. The hexagon-shaped biscuits is what the place is known for, and for good reason. They have a lot of lift to them, making them appear pillow-like inside, but they’re crusty on the outside for a nice crunch, and have a bite to them for a little chew. So many textures and sensations packed into one biscuit makes for a winning recipe. And, thanks to Treva’s mathematical background, they discovered that the hexagon shape is an efficient way to make them; they can bake 200 biscuits in 30 minutes, and the shape also gives you more crunch since you have 12 corners to eat. Sounds delicious, right? Luckily, you can try them even if you aren’t in NYC.
Before opening BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe, the Chadwells attempted to crowdfund their restaurant to help get it up and running. While they didn’t meet their goal in time, John wouldn’t call the experience a failure, because it helped them define their message and clarify their thoughts in a precise way. It showed them that there were people in their lives who very seriously wanted to see them succeed, and they realized that they couldn’t bank on crowdfunding as the only way to get their place going.
John’s tip for someone attempting to crowdfund is simple: Don’t rush it. “Don’t feel like you need to rush to get the product or project done. Take your time, because if you think you may not be ready, you probably aren’t. You also can’t force it and just hope it’ll flesh itself out, because a lot of work goes into it, but, with that being said, there’s a point when you’ve gotta jump.”
While he’s not opposed to crowdfunding again in the future, next time he says he would try to do it on a smaller scale. Instead of trying to fund a new restaurant (which would only benefit the people in that city), he would like to attempt to fund his line of jams so more people could benefit.
If you’re ever in Brooklyn and have a hankering to sink your teeth into a delectable biscuit in an inviting atmosphere, be sure to check out BeeHive Oven Biscuit Cafe. Their “Build Your Own Biscuit” leaves room for countless ways for you to customize your order, but if you’re in the mood for something besides serving biscuits, they also serve original recipes featuring cuisine from Texas, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Treva’s an 8th generation Texan/Louisianian, and her family’s cooked for princes, patriots, and pirates, so she knows a thing or two about creating delicious food.
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