From fast casual to fine dining, restaurants are differentiating bread service with unique butters. | Photo: Shutterstock.
At Logan’s Roadhouse, house-made yeast rolls are a big deal, baked fresh every morning and brought out to the table piping hot. The casual-dining chain is known for its rolls. So why not make a bigger deal over the butter, the team thought.
This fall, they’re doing exactly that, launching a new Butter of the Month promotion with a calendar that will extend into 2026. Luis Haro, senior director of culinary for parent company SPB Hospitality, created 12 butter variations to serve with the rolls, each rolling out on the first of the month. It started in October, with campfire-inspired S’mores Butter, followed in November with Cinnamon Roll Butter highlighted by caramel notes.
“We have a lineup of both sweet and savory butters, each matched to a key day that month or a seasonal flavor,” said Haro. To pass the flavor test, the butters had to complement the rolls—not fight them. “We tried some that were spicy or very colorful, but they didn’t work well with our rolls,” he added. For example, the garlic butter used as a steak topper was a little overpowering and a chili butter, a bit too spicy.
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Cinnamon Roll Butter is November’s Butter of the Month at Logan’s Roadhouse. | Photo courtesy of Logan’s Roadhouse.
The butter itself is also special. It’s a European blend whipped in-house, combined with the flavoring ingredients and stored in 5- to 10-pound blocks, which can be scooped out into souffle cups to serve with the rolls. The way the program works is that Logan’s Rewards members can redeem one free scoop of butter each month, and after that, can pay 99 cents when they return for seconds or thirds. Non-members can pay the 99 cents up front. It’s by request only; some customers opt for plain butter with their rolls.
Haro also made sure that the Butter of the Month program didn’t add labor or excess cost. “We didn’t want to bring in a lot of single-use SKUs, so we mostly cross-utilize ingredients we already have in the back-of-house,” he said. Labor is minimal; servers heat up the rolls and scoop the butter.
Guests are excited about the Butter of the Month program, said Jasmine Stallworth, brand manager for Logan’s. “Posts are blowing up on social media and customers are excited to see what we’re coming out with each month,” she said. So far, the promotion has boosted return visits and strengthened brand loyalty.
“It was a fun project to ideate,” said Haro, whose test kitchen is located in one of Logan’s 120 restaurants. “I got a lot of feedback from the managers, servers and regular guests who tried the butters during the testing period.”
Elevating bread service with butter
As is the trend in most casual-dining restaurants, the bread service at Logan’s Roadhouse is complimentary. While that’s not always true at higher-end restaurants, some are now differentiating with free bread and fancier butters.
At New York City’s San Babila, an Italian restaurant where pastas start at $30, the bread and butter service is complimentary and chef driven. Chef-owner Francesco Lamanna imports Altamura bread from Italy and makes his own unique butter.
“I start by clarifying the butter, then blending it with orange and lemon zest and very finely chopped fresh herbs,” he said. Although the butter is chilled after preparation, it’s always served at room temperature to maximize the flavor. Although olive oil is a more common bread accompaniment in Italian restaurants, San Babila’s butter sets it apart.
The butter at Paris Cafe is shaped like the French madeleine cookie. | Photo by Pat Cobe.
Paris Café, a bistro in New York’s South Street Seaport neighborhood, imports its butter from France. “It was important for us to have French butter to be true to the classic French bistro,” said pastry chef Emma Scanlon. “It comes in a wooden barrel and we scoop it into molds shaped like the madeleine, the classic French cookie.”
Baguettes from Le Sournil bakery are sliced onto a plate and served with the molded butter at dinner. The kitchen also uses the product for the green garlic compound butter that comes with the escargot. “Silky, lush butter is the bedrock of French cooking,” said Scanlon.
It’s also the bedrock for her pastry basket served at Paris Café’s brunch. The croissants are baked with the French butter and the pastries are served with a cup of the same.
Biscuits deserve a butter bar
Ever since Vicious Biscuit opened its first restaurant in 2018, the Jam Bar has been a fixture and a customer draw for breakfast, brunch and lunch. “It was a differentiator and has become something our guests come to expect when they visit,” said Mike Ball, VP of operations for the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based chain.
But it should really be called a Jam & Butter Bar, because its four signature butters are a big attraction for biscuit eaters too. On offer are plain, sweet potato, maple bourbon and honey butters, all made in-house. Right now, those are the core flavors at every one of the fast casual’s 10 locations, but Ball is considering seasonal additions.
Four signature butters are offered at Vicious Biscuit’s Jam Bar. | Photo courtesy of Vicious Biscuit.
Jams are also house-made and include peach, strawberry, raspberry and rotating fruit flavors.
“Our butters and jams offer a nostalgic, familiar touch that remind our guests of a family-style setting where they can add a variety of exciting flavors to our scratch-made biscuits,” said Ball. Those scratch-made buttermilk biscuits are at the heart of the Vicious Biscuit menu, forming the base for many of the entrees.
“Oftentimes, we’ll see guests take part of their biscuit entrée over to the Jam Bar to experience one of the butters,” said Bell. “They can enjoy the bar regardless of what they order and it’s available at no additional cost, providing an added value.”
Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.
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