Olamaie chef opening biscuit shop Little Ola's Biscuits this week in North Austin

While everyone is happy to see the pandemic restrictions receding, especially restaurants, there were a few silver linings to the forced change brought on by the coronavirus. 

Olamaie chef-owner Michael Fojtasek was one of the first to close his dining room, and his fine dining restaurant remains closed. But during the hiatus for the Southern restaurant, the chef launched Little Ola's Biscuits.

The operation based on the restaurant's wildly popular biscuits ran out of Olamaie starting last summer, though it closed this spring for the team to focus on the launch of a permanent biscuit shop, as Olamaie prepares for a reopening in the months ahead. 

Little Ola's Biscuits will open Friday at its new home in Wells Branch. The biscuit shop, which will serve biscuits, biscuit sandwiches and seasonal sides and salads, has taken over the space at 14735 Bratton Lane previously occupied by Garbo’s, the seafood restaurant that is now located off North MoPac near the Domain. 

“I think what the pandemic caused me to do is think about things that are more functional than sexy, This feels like a good business decision and an opportunity to expand into a market. I’m not trying to prove anything anymore, I just wanna put good stuff out there," Fojtasek told the American-Statesman in January.

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Little Ola’s Biscuits will serve the same roster of sandwiches at the new location that it served out of Olamaie, including a fried chicken biscuit; country ham and cheese; and pimento cheese. 

Expect Little Ola's in Wells Branch to serve breakfast and lunch; the restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Fojtasek says his team his looking at an October reopening date for Olamaie. 

The biscuit shop is not the only new venture Fojtasek launched during the pandemic. He also oversees the food offerings at the revamped Butler Pitch & Putt, and his casual Southern offering, Mignette, is still slated to eventually open at the long-gestating St. Elmo Public Market development in South Austin. 

(This story has been updated with the hours for Little Ola.)

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