CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Before the sun is up, Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen's lights and ovens are on.

Its employees are hard at work mixing up dozens of batches of biscuits every morning.

It's not uncommon to see a long line of cars outside once it opens. But the friendly faces in the window will have your order, food, and receipt in record time.

They pride themselves on fast service and often know their customers' names and orders by heart.

General Manager Randy Owen has been with Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill for more than 20 years.

"They have quadrupled in sales since I've been here. So it's fantastic to watch from the start, to where we are at now," Owen says.

Founder David Allen says he started the business with a fraternity brother in college. Their first day in business they made $39.

"Haha so we were kind of doubting that maybe it was not a good move, but fortunately people found out what we were doing," Allen says. "We were one of the first breakfast biscuit restaurants in the state."

If you don't live close to Chapel Hill or Louisburg, Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen ships its famous fried chicken, cinnamon rolls, and biscuit kits nationwide.

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Eating NC is about bringing the best of North Carolina’s food into your kitchen. We can't get our hands on Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen's recipe, but we found another one that is sure to make you hungry, courtesy of bakerbettie.com

YIELD: 7-8 BISCUITS

EASY 3 INGREDIENT SELF-RISING FLOUR BISCUITS

PREP TIME: 8 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 18 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 26 MINUTES

Self-Rising Flour Biscuits are the easiest biscuits you will ever make! The dough for these drop biscuits comes together in less than 10 minutes and uses only 3 ingredients: self-rising flour, salted butter, and milk or buttermilk!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/4 cups (270) self-rising flour (see notes for substitution)
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup, 112 gr) salted butter, cold (see notes for substitution)
  • 3/4 cup - 1 1/4 cup (177-295 ml) milk or buttermilk, cold (see notes for substitution)

INSTRUCTIONS
1.    Preheat your oven to 450F (232 C)
2.    Measure out your flour by fluffing it up with a spoon, lightly spooning it into your measuring cup being careful not to pack it down, and level it off. Or use a scale to measure by weight. Place in a large mixing bowl.
3.    Cut your cold butter into small chunks and add it into your flour. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the flour until it is the texture of coarse meal.
4.    Add about 3/4 cup of the cold milk into your flour and butter mixture and stir using a spoon or rubber spatula, not a whisk, just until the flour is incorporated, about 10-15 seconds. Add more milk as needed to bring the consistency to a very thick batter. You want it thin enough that it could not be rolled out like a dough, but still very thick. I usually need 1 cup, but you may need a little more or a little less. Do not over-mix your batter or you will have tough biscuits.
5.    Using a 2 oz scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out your biscuits into a cast iron skillet or onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
6.    Place the biscuits in your preheated oven, and bake at 450 F (232 C) for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown.
7.    If desired, spoon melted butter over the top of the baked biscuits.
8.    Completely cooled biscuits can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. To refresh, warm in a 325 F (163 C) oven for about 10 minutes until warmed through.