At Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris, there’s nothing we love more than going exploring in the areas surrounding us. Just outside Park City, the land is dotted with small towns and rolling farmlands that are rich with historic tales of pioneer fortitude. Woodland, a village that boasts 335 full-time residents is one such place, but it has a treasure we discovered by surprise last Monday: Woodland Biscuit Company.
One of a kind built from love of good people and great food
This gem of a cafe opened in June 2015 in what used to be the Woodland Cash Store which back when Woodland was settled sold everything from coal and eggs in the early days to washing machines and fabric as the ranching community grew. It’s the brainchild of Laurel Bartmess, a Park City local. “Building a business by bringing people together through quality food and service to share a lovely experience is my inspiration for creating this restaurant. It is the kind of place you want to exist, hopes exists, and should exist because we all deserve to be delighted. We hope it exists somewhere….and it does, we are working on that place out in Woodland.” Although she wanted to build a restaurant a few years out of college she put the idea to rest to have and raise her two daughters (now 11 and 15). “First, I had to raise my daughters to school age but, when I decided to return to work I chose to return to the field of education. It seemed more practical when the girls began attending school to stay in education instead of opening a restaurant. Once in awhile I would mention to friends this idea- the idea of building a restaurant- out of love and concern they always tried to talk me out of it and unfortunately I let fear and other people’s advice cloud my vision. I was scared of failure as well as what other people would think of what they thought was a crazy, risky, or irresponsible idea.”
After working in the Park City School District for 3 years she took a job working as the Activities Director for a local assisted living community. “Spending time with people at the end of their life is a beautiful reality check. The common thread in many daily discussion was their surprise, almost shock at how very, very fast time- “their life” had passed. And then, they were there- in assisted living- and it shouldn’t have been time- it just went “too fast” they said. I knew then, after a year working there, I had to build the restaurant I knew should exist. In total I told only five people about my decision, four of which were related to me. Then, I signed the lease.”
Now, these are biscuits!
Of course, our favorite was Laurel’s classic fresh biscuit served with butter and house-made jam. Before tasting these, we’d all believed that biscuits came out of a Pillsbury roll of cardboard that we had to hit on our kitchen counter to open. Now we know better – there is absolutely no comparison. Laurel’s flakey clouds burst with fragrant steam the minute we broke them open. Slathered in butter and house- made blueberry jam, they inspire one of those rare food moments that stay in your memory forever. We immediately went family-style, passing around our plates so everyone could taste the different dishes we ordered. Round and round the table went biscuits with homemade sausage gravy, biscuits with eggs and bacon, the Cubano Biscuit Sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, house-made pickles, and mustard, the Huevos Rancheros with grilled veggies and over easy eggs with a side of bacon. Every bite was deliciously fresh and unforgettable.
Serving lunch too
Eyeing the menu again, we thought about staying for lunch. Woodland Biscuit Company serves breakfast all day but for lunch they offer the likes of burgers from local beef-seriously, beef from just down the road, on grilled brioche, turkey, bacon & tomato, pesto sandwiches, or the Fat Lefty Biscuit Sandwich with greens, organic Kielbasa sausage, egg, house tomato jam, red onion and mayo with a side of grilled veggies or potato chips. It all looked too good to pass up, but we decided we’d come back another day because, well, somebody needs to sell Park City real estate – right? But, we’re already looking forward to an all-team lunch at Laurel’s culinary gift to Parkites.
Directions to Woodland Biscuit Company are listed front and center on their website. We recommend reading them before you set out – your GPS gets pretty iffy out in those parts. They’re open from 8:00am – 2:00pm, Friday through Tuesday, closed on Wednesday and Thursday so the staff can catch their breath. This little eatery is everything we love about Park City – it’s a local, owner-operated labor of love born out of one woman’s vision. We at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris salute Laurel’s bravery in following her heart, and give her food a standing ovation. Bravo, Laurel!
