For the second year in a row, Biscuitville Fresh Southern President and CEO Kathie Niven has been named to Business North Carolina Magazine’s 2024 Power List as one of the state’s most influential business leaders.

Each year, the magazine selects candidates across various industries based on interviews with business community members and reader suggestions. Business North Carolina compiles the annual list of business leaders with an emphasis on those who have made a particularly noteworthy impact in the past year.

“Being included on the Business North Carolina Power List is a reflection of Biscuitville’s growing reputation and expansion in North Carolina and beyond,” Niven said. “It is an honor for me to accept on behalf of the 2,400+ team members who serve our guests and ensure we’re offering delicious scratch-made meals every day.”

Niven joined Biscuitville in 2011, bringing more than a decade of executive leadership in the restaurant industry with her. She was named Biscuitville’s President in 2018 and CEO in 2021. Since then, the brand has expanded in existing and into new markets, including entering South Carolina in 2023 and opening seven restaurants there in under 12 months. Under her oversight, Biscuitville has opened its new 78,000-square-foot warehouse, grown the average sales to nearly $2 million per restaurant, now offers more healthy-option menu items, and operates 80+ restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Internally, she has put in place long-range strategic planning and launched innovation and project management departments to sustain the momentum. The results are showing: In July 2023, Biscuitville was voted the nation’s Best Fast Food Breakfast & Best Regional Fast Food restaurant in the 2023 USA Today Readers’ Choice 10Best contest.

Niven received a B.A. degree in English with a minor in communications from Elon University. Her post-graduate studies and professional development include leadership, branding, and continuing education at the Center for Creative Leadership, the Kenan Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Harvard University.