Vicious Biscuit Signs Lease in Northeast Ohio

September 04, 2026 // FranchisePR.com // — Vicious Biscuit, the original home of unapologetically bold biscuits, is expanding its footprint in Northeast Ohio as franchisees Carl Albright, Dave Ost and Ken Troutman sign a lease for their third location. The group’s next restaurant is planned for early 2027 at 4693 Fulton Drive NW in Belden Center in Canton, OH. The 5,025-square-foot end-cap space will include a large outdoor patio and marks the halfway point in the group’s six-unit development commitment with Vicious Biscuit.

Albright and his partners were the first Vicious Biscuit franchisees to open a restaurant, introducing the concept to Ohio with Montrose in May 2024. They recently became the first franchise group in the system to open a second location with the debut of Medina in June and are now the first to move forward with a third.

“Carl and his partners continuing to grow with us is exactly what we want to see as we build this franchise system,” said George McLaughlin, co-founder and CEO of Vicious Biscuit. “They believed in Vicious Biscuit from the beginning, opened our first franchise location and have continued to invest in what we’re building together. When an existing franchisee wants to expand their footprint, that says a lot about their confidence in the concept and where we’re headed.”

Medina also marked another milestone for Vicious Biscuit as its first freestanding franchise restaurant. The company currently operates two freestanding corporate locations and sees the format as an important part of its future development strategy as the right real estate becomes available.

Medina also gave Vicious Biscuit its first opportunity to apply its market-density strategy outside its home market of Charleston, SC. While Medina and Montrose are geographically close, highways and green space create natural trade-area separation between two communities, supporting the company’s strategy to build greater density in Northeast Ohio.

For Vicious Biscuit, that approach is part of a broader development strategy that prioritizes restaurant-level economics and the ideal real estate over opening locations simply to increase unit count.

“We’re not interested in growing just to put another number on the board,” McLaughlin said. “The real estate must make sense for the franchisee and give that restaurant the best opportunity to perform for the long term. Sometimes that means being patient and waiting for that opportunity. If we want franchisees to continue growing with us, it’s imperative we make good decisions with their investment.”

That next opportunity is in Canton. The new restaurant will be in the Belden Village area near Jackson Township and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with a mix of established retail, restaurants and residential communities surrounding the site.

“As we’ve grown from one location to two and now prepare for our third, we’ve seen the infrastructure Vicious Biscuit has put in place to support franchisees as they grow,” Albright said. “There’s a system behind each new restaurant, from training and operations to support from the corporate team. Knowing that support is there gives us confidence as we continue building our business and moving toward our six-location commitment.”

Vicious Biscuit is seeking multi-unit operators to join its growing franchise system. For more information, visit www.viciousbiscuit.com/vicious-biscuit-franchise.