Appreciation: Little Biscuit Barn Marks 40 Tasty Years

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Creating the perfect southern biscuit is a dying art.

For those of us raised around a farm table with a grandmother made a stack of perfect biscuits every day, about the only way to come close to that delicacy is to find the right flour, sift it five times, mix the other ingredients just right and hope you have the perfect heating oven and baking time.

Or you can just visit the Little Biscuit Barn in Honea Path, which celebrated 40 years of providing the perfect southern biscuit by stacking them high on plates and offering them as a thank you to the community which has helped them build a family tradition.

The original Little Biscuit Barn was the dream of Marlene Alewine, who opened the doors July 6, 1984 at 324 North Main Street in Honea Path. Mrs. Alewine was on hand Sunday and watched as her daughter, Stacie Cannon greeted regular customers and community well-wishers on the same spot she founded 40 years earlier. A new, larger building now houses the restaurant, but nothing else has changed.

Cannon, who took over the business in 2008, said nothing has changed in her goals to continue to provide the best local food anywhere. She suggested the sausage biscuit, which uses high-quality meat, remains the favorite item on the menu and it’s easy to see why.

The sample I tried easily met the goal of a perfect flaky biscuit, with a thick, well-seaoned slab of sausage in the middle. My grandmother, who was exceptionally critical when it came to other people’s biscuits, would have eaten two. 

Generations of Honea Path residents have been fed here, and today's crowd included octogenarians and toddlers.

Small, locally owned community businesses are a challenge in these days of fast-food chains which offer convenience over quality and taste. Here’s hoping Honea Path’s The Little Biscuit Barn will be around another 40 years.