Sassy Biscuit Co. restaurant closes in Dover. 'We did as much as we could.'

DOVER — The Sassy Biscuit Co. restaurant’s three-year run on Washington Street came to a close Wednesday.

Owner Jilan Hall Johnson confirmed Sassy Biscuit is permanently closed, and she will finalize the sale of its assets, though not the concept, to an unspecified new owner this week. The restaurant’s flagship sister location in Billings, Montana, remains open.

The Dover location in the Orpheum building opened in August 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as a counter service eatery. This past summer, in late July, The Sassy Biscuit pivoted to full table service as a last-ditch survival effort, with Johnson asking city residents to believe in and support the business.

“We have been talking about trying to figure out how to increase sales for quite some time. Unfortunately, since opening, we just didn’t receive the business that we needed, the support from the community,” she said Thursday. “For a very long time, we hired experts to come in and see what we could do to change. We revamped as many things as we could based on customer feedback. We did as much as we could over the last three-and-a-half years. This was not a decision that came about easily, but it was a decision that had to be made, unfortunately.

“From day one, we ran into so many problems and issues and it’s just been a huge struggle,” she added. “We’ve been in the red from day one. After so much time, so much money and so much energy into something that just wasn’t doing well, it was a decision that had to be made.”

Johnson takes pride in the work The Sassy Biscuit did within the community, as well as its Southern-inspired menu featuring items like biscuits, gravy, waffles, chicken and more. The restaurant hired several employees in recovery, donated to local nonprofits, supported local women’s homes and participated in community events.

Sassy Biscuit came to Dover with high hopes

The idea to bring The Sassy Biscuit to Dover was presented to Johnson by her eventual business partner Ronni Slavin Perkins, who visited Johnson in Billings to share her vision.

In 2019, Johnson, along with a business advisor and Perkins, visited New Hampshire for the first time and toured Dover. Johnson signed a lease with the 104 Washington St. property owner, Cathartes, in July of that year, and the business opened just over a year later.

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“Sassy has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” she said. “It’s unfortunate it did not work out in Dover, but we do have hopes of expanding at some point. We’ve had other opportunities but right now we’re really going to focus on making sure that we have everything lined up as it should be, so that way we’ll hopefully never have to close another business. It’s just a difficult time for everyone.”

Johnson opened the first location in Billings in 2018 with her husband DeMarco Johnson, a Marine she met in her first culinary school class.

What's next at Sassy Biscuit site at 104 Washington St.?

This week, the new owner of the business’ assets came in to speak with The Sassy Biscuit’s staff, according to Johnson. She said part of the negotiations with the unidentified new owner were to have as many current staff members as possible hired for the new business.

Cathartes' director of asset management, Jackie Huber, did not comment on the incoming tenant but shared a statement on The Sassy Biscuit's exit from the Orpheum building in Dover.

"We are aware that Sassy Biscuit closed," Huber said. "Sassy Biscuit has been a valued tenant at the Orpheum since it opened and we wish them well in their future endeavors."

A favorite memory of Johnson’s as The Sassy Biscuit departs Dover is her very first time visiting the city with Perkins. She felt an instant connection, a desire to expand The Sassy Biscuit in the Northeast and to make a difference in the city.

“I thought, ‘Absolutely, this is a place I want to be a part of, a community I want to be a part of,’” she recalled. “It was a series of a lot of unfortunate events. COVID was a major part of our story. You can’t turn back time. You can only move forward. We’ve learned so much through all of this. That is what I'm grateful for as I close this chapter of my life and move on.

“I hope that the Dover community takes the time to appreciate the businesses that do come,” she said. “Support them, because it’s a lot of hard work.”

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Sassy Biscuit restaurant closes in Dover NH