Over the weekend, two branches of The Big Biscuit in the Kansas City area suddenly shut down, leaving approximately 60 employees without jobs just before the Thanksgiving holiday. These restaurants were located at 16506 E. U.S. Highway 40 in Independence and 530 N.W. Highway 7 in Blue Springs.
Interestingly, these were the first two establishments of the local breakfast-and-lunch chain, which was established in 2000 by Dan Gerson. However, in 2010, Gerson sold the company, which has since expanded to include around 24 locations across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and soon Arkansas. Despite this, Gerson retained ownership of the Blue Springs and Independence locations. Unfortunately, Gerson passed away in September, and his son, Luke Gerson, took charge of operating these Big Biscuit restaurants.
Silvia Sarmiento, an employee at the Independence location, expressed her dissatisfaction with the sudden closure, stating, “They fired our general manager and made her tell us we have no job. No ‘Thank you for your time,’ no clarification on how to reapply, nothing. Just because it’s common for companies to lay people off doesn’t mean (the way they did this) was right.”
The Gerson family could not be reached for comment on the matter. However, Chad Offerdahl, the president of The Big Biscuit, which is now headquartered in Overland Park, mentioned that although they do not own the two closed locations, they are actively collaborating with the Gerson family to explore options for reopening those two stores.
Offerdahl further added, “We have informed the Gerson family that they should feel free to encourage their former employees to apply for positions with The Big Biscuit companies.”
