GREENSBORO, N.C. – The founder of a popular Southern restaurant chain that started in Danville, Va. has died. Maurice Jennings, of Greensboro, died Saturday at 87.

Armed with an old family recipe, he opened the first Biscuitville in Danville in 1975 and expanded quickly southward throughout North Carolina. Beginning in the 1980s, the small restaurants started opening only for breakfast and lunch, closing at 2 p.m.

Biscuitville moved its Alamance County headquarters to Greensboro in 2007.

Since Jennings opened the first Biscuitville on Patton St. in Danville 45 years ago, the company has grown to 63 restaurants from Lynchburg, Va. to most of North Carolina. The company sells every kind of breakfast food from scrambled eggs to pancakes, but the biscuit is at the heart of what made Jennings a success.

In February, Jennings received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2020 Stars of the Industry Awards, hosted by the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association.