From a borrowed pizza kitchen to three Denver-area locations, Rise & Shine has built a following with Southern-style biscuits, creative daily flavors, and breakfast sandwiches that won’t break the bank.
On weekend mornings, a line stretching out the door of Rise & Shine Biscuit Kitchen isn’t an unusual sight. Along a small stretch of South Pennsylvania Street in Denver’s Speer neighborhood, where restaurants and longtime watering holes share the block, people are willing to wait for a good biscuit.
Located accross the street from local gems Uncle and Johnny Buchamel’s, the modest breakfast shop has become a familiar part of the neighborhood’s morning routine. Some customers grab a sandwich to go, while others settle into the outdoor seating area with breakfast and coffee.
The draw is straightforward: freshly baked Southern-style biscuits, satisfying breakfast sandwiches, and prices that feel increasingly rare in Denver’s dining scene. What began as a single biscuit counter in 2010 has grown into three locations, including a South Pennsylvania Street shop that’s become a neighborhood staple.
The Biscuit Makes the Difference
A biscuit can make or break a breakfast sandwich. Too dry, and it crumbles apart before the last bite. Too dense, and it overwhelms everything tucked inside.
Rise & Shine finds the sweet spot. Its biscuits are tender and substantial without being excessively crumbly, holding together remarkably well even when loaded with eggs, cheese, and breakfast meats. It’s the kind of detail that becomes especially noticeable when you’re halfway through a sandwich and it’s still intact.
The menu makes good use of that foundation. Customers can keep things simple with a build-your-own bacon, egg, and cheese or sausage, egg, and cheese, or choose from signature sandwiches named after North Carolina towns, a nod to founder Seth Rubin’s home state.
The Chapel Hill, featuring fried chicken tucked inside a biscuit, is a particular favorite. Adding an egg makes it an even heartier breakfast. Other options include the Raleigh with roast beef, cheddar, and horseradish, and the Goldsboro with North Carolina country ham.
Perhaps just as impressive as the food is the price.
On the restaurant’s menu, a plain biscuit starts at $1.80, the Chapel Hill costs $5.95, and a build-your-own bacon, egg, and cheese comes out to $7.00 on average.
In a city where a casual breakfast can quickly approach $20, Rise & Shine offers substantial food at prices that make returning regularly an easy decision.
A Different Biscuit Every Day
The regular menu provides the foundation, but the Biscuit of the Day might be Rise & Shine’s most charming tradition.
Every day brings a different flavor, from savory favorites like cheddar, Jarlsberg, and Italian herb to more adventurous varieties like Texas Pete and Old Bay. Fridays are reserved for the beer biscuit, a recurring end-of-week special.
But there’s more planning behind these rotating flavors than you might expect.
Rise & Shine publishes its Biscuit of the Day calendar a month in advance, letting customers see exactly what’s coming. For those particularly committed to their breakfast schedule, the calendar can even be added directly to your personal Google Calendar.
Yes, you can plan your month around biscuits.
It’s a clever way to keep a focused menu interesting. A regular might order the same bacon, egg, and cheese every visit, but swapping in a different biscuit creates an entirely new combination. And for anyone with a favorite flavor, knowing when it’ll return is reason enough to mark the calendar.
From a Pizza Kitchen to Three Biscuit Shops
Rise & Shine’s story began with a North Carolina native who couldn’t find the biscuits he missed from home.
Founder Seth Rubin had a background in urban development and planning rather than restaurants, but saw an opportunity to bring Southern-style biscuits to Denver.
On January 1, 2010, he opened the first Rise & Shine biscuit counter inside Basil Doc’s Pizza at 330 Holly Street in Hilltop, an unconventional beginning documented by Westword. Using an existing pizza kitchen during breakfast hours gave Rubin an affordable way to get the business off the ground.
The concept eventually outgrew its shared space. In 2015, Rise & Shine opened its first standalone restaurant near Sloan’s Lake, followed by the South Pennsylvania Street location in August 2018.
A third shop at 615 Garrison Street in Lakewood lextended the business westward in March 2023.
Each shop serves its own surrounding neighborhood, but the menu remains consistent across all three, from the North Carolina-inspired sandwiches and customizable breakfasts to the rotating Biscuit of the Day.
A Morning Fixture on Pennsylvania Street
The Speer location occupies the former Europa Coffee House space at 76 South Pennsylvania Street, tucked into a lively pocket of independent neighborhood businesses.
Nearby, Carmine’s on Penn has long been known for family-style Italian meals, while the Spot Bar remains a casual neighborhood gathering place. Johnny Bechamel’s has more recently added pizza and handmade pasta to the area’s dining options.
Rise & Shine gives the block a different kind of energy in the morning.
The outdoor seating area gives customers a place to linger over breakfast when the weather cooperates, turning a quick takeaway stop into a more leisurely neighborhood ritual.
Inside, Rise & Shine regularly showcases rotating artwork from local artists, with pieces available for customers to purchase. It’s a thoughtful addition that gives the space a changing visual identity while connecting neighborhood customers with Denver’s creative community.
Together, these details give the Pennsylvania Street location its own character. The biscuits may bring people in, but the relaxed atmosphere and neighborhood connections make it feel like more than just another breakfast counter.
A Good Reason to Rise & Shine (Biscuit Kitchen)
More than sixteen years after Seth Rubin began selling biscuits from a borrowed pizza kitchen, Rise & Shine has grown into three locations while holding onto the idea that started it all.
On South Pennsylvania Street, that idea has become part of the neighborhood’s morning routine. Weekend lines and outdoor tables filled with people enjoying breakfast offer a glimpse of how a straightforward concept can become a local favorite.
Across Denver, the appeal remains much the same: a satisfying breakfast, an approachable price, and perhaps a new biscuit flavor worth getting up early for.
Sometimes, a really good biscuit is worth waiting for.
