District Biskuits has returned to the storefront where it all started, reopening a second location in June inside the same building at 1664 E. 63rd St. in Kansas City that once hosted its earliest morning service nearly 10 years ago. Chef Guroux Khalifah founded the biscuit-focused restaurant in 2017 as a popup before it grew into a permanent brand with locations in two different corners of the metro.
According to the Kansas City Star, the East 63rd Street spot previously belonged to Lutfi's Fried Fish, where District Biskuits once served mornings before the fish restaurant opened for lunch and dinner. District Fish & Pasta House later occupied that same storefront before District Biskuits moved back in this year. Khalifah, who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta and previously worked at Bristol Seafood and Lidia's, told the Star, “I'm gonna see if I can build a brand around a biscuit.”
A Menu Built Around Biscuits and a New Chicken Concept
The East 63rd Street location serves biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns, and sandwiches including the Wonder Biscuit with fried chicken, cheese, bacon and a fried egg, along with the Charlie Hustle Nashville hot fried chicken biscuit and the DC Mac mac-and-cheese bowl topped with fried chicken, bacon jam and hot honey. The menu also features The Crown, a smash burger served on a biscuit that sells for $7 on Wednesdays. Troost Juice supplies fruity lemonade beverages at the location, per the Star's report, and the restaurant offers pickup and delivery.
Khalifah began working on a sister concept called Howlin' Fowls in 2024, adding more dinner entrées to the District Biskuits lineup. Howlin' Fowls includes fried chicken, a fried or grilled chicken wrap, chicken salad, hot honey shrimp, Cajun pasta topped with blackened shrimp and chicken, and loaded fries piled with chopped fried chicken and spicy cheese curds. Khalifah said, “Everyone loves a delicious, buttery, soft, flaky, fluffy biscuit,” describing the appeal that has carried the brand from a single popup to two storefronts.
Hours, Seating and Plans to Grow
The East 63rd Street location currently seats around 20 people and is closed Mondays, open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday — later hours than its permanent North Kansas City location keeps. Khalifah is considering reducing the morning hours at the new spot if business does not pick up, but he also has expansion in mind: the location plans to grow into a neighboring space with more seating, and he may apply for a liquor license. Khalifah has said he wants District Biskuits to become a regional brand.
City of Kansas City planning documents include E. 63rd Street and E. Meyer Boulevard among corridors where staff sought to encourage a consistent development pattern. City records show that Kansas City approved a 63rd and Prospect PIEA general development plan covering approximately 25.62 acres at the northwest quadrant of E. 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue.
Roots in Kansas City's Black-Owned Business Community
District Biskuits' growth has been supported by local networks aimed at strengthening Black-owned businesses east of Troost Avenue. The March 2024 “We Are Black” pitch competition was hosted by Kansas City G.I.F.T., a non-profit that backs local Black entrepreneurs, according to Startland News. The organization has awarded more than $2 million in grants to over 85 Black-owned businesses in the area, creating over 160 jobs in Kansas City's urban core, per KC G.I.F.T.
Nationally, Black business owners owned 3,239,551 businesses and employed 1,188,819 workers, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy's report using 2018 Annual Business Survey data.
Startland News also reports that District Biskuits opened its first standalone restaurant in North Kansas City at 504 Armour Rd. in December 2022, after years of pop-ups and catering, with a soft opening that drew lines wrapping around the parking lot. Kansas City Magazine discussed Kansas City smash burgers in March 2025. The restaurant has also taken part in community events, including Kansas City's Black Feast Week in October 2025; the Kritiq Fashion Show took place in May 2025.
