It’s all about bodacious biscuits and crazy cheesecakes at Tacoma’s new ’70s-themed cafe

Over 14 months and two commissaries, chef Hailey Hernandez and her husband Dante proved that a takeout-only restaurant that sold, exclusively, biscuits and cheesecakes, could thrive in Tacoma.

After a few soft-launch weekends, their brick-and-mortar Side Piece Kitchen officially opens Oct. 6 at 4704 S. Oakes St. in South Tacoma, mere seconds from a certain chain restaurant with cheesecake in the name that they have playfully taunted on Instagram.

“It’s been really, really fun,” said Hailey after the first test weekend. “I’m really excited to have our customers here, genuinely!”

With these two at the helm, the unconventional combo might have flourished in any city — the biscuits are, in fact, superb and the slices of cheesecake unapologetically decadent. But the Hernandezes, who met as teenagers and have been together for 14 years, are Tacomans through and through, and so their restaurant lives here in a way that feels, simultaneously, like it couldn’t exist anywhere else.

Side Piece amassed such a fierce fan base that they quickly outgrew the pickup model. Cheesecake slices, the flavors announced on Instagram, would sell out in the first hour. Week after week, they would bake more biscuits to be swiped with lavender butter and savory tomato jam, or stacked on either side of prosciutto, chèvre, hot-pepper aioli and a pleasantly runny fried egg.

Unlike many of their modern counterparts, these flaky, buttery yet sturdy biscuits stand up to the task of being a sandwich vehicle and the split underbelly of platters like the Stoner SOS, drenched in half-meat, half-mushroom gravy and dotted with house-pickled jalapenos.

Like its fried-easy eggs, the menu is dripping with cheeky names like Croque Ma’damnnnn (béchamel, gruyère, Virginia ham), Sizzurup Sando (maple sausage, white cheddar, two eggs, syrup) and Avocado Toast Ruined My Life (plus marinated tomatoes, pickled red onion, crispy shallots, poached eggs).

After working at several high-profile Tacoma kitchens including Marrow and Wilder, Hailey Hernandez first gained attention for her bodacious brunch as the opening chef of Sig Brewing Co., where Dante also worked as the brewery’s ambassador. They launched Side Piece as a ghost kitchen in June 2022.

By May 2023, the couple had leased an old Pizza Hut near the mall.

They kept cooking at the commissary on South Tacoma Way, where customers would arrive at their designated pickup time, call the restaurant to say, “I’m here,” and then Dante would rush out the back door with a bag full of biscuits.

On their off days and after hours, they tore down walls at the new space, ripped out and refinished the floors and scrubbed the kitchen. I’m not sure where they found the time, but they also frequented thrift shops in search of wooden picture frames and old magazines, swag lights, shadow-box clocks and metal geese. Their parents and siblings helped the cause.

The result is a restaurant that carries you back in time to 1973, the year Hailey’s mother was born. Mustard yellow and orange striped wallpaper now adorns the walls and lazy susan-style tables with chrome bases, accented by dangling philodendrons and springy telephone cords. The counter is avocado-green formica with salvaged wood paneling around the base. Find the menu above the register on a plastic Dr Pepper letterboard rescued from a burger stand at the Puyallup State Fair.

Just about everything — save for the fast-food staple faux-wood trash can with “THANK YOU” engraved on the swinging flap — was “thrifted or we built ourselves,” said Hailey. “It’s the first counter I’ve ever built!”

The couple ran a Kickstarter campaign that gleaned $30,000, before fees, and secured a grant through the City of Tacoma, which offset additional upfront costs for big-ticket items like the ovens that hold around 20 cheesecakes at a time.

Core cheesecake flavors at the new Side Piece Kitchen, sold by the slice, include a pink-swirled strawberry shortcake, Nilla Wafer-topped banana pudding, and cajeta, a goat-milk caramel with Obleas, a Mexican candy. The list also features a handful of an ever-growing cast of specials, often inspired by other foods like ice cream (spumoni, mint chip), drinks (mojito, macchiato), or whatever else Hailey and Co. dream up. With an assist from fans and a digital picker wheel, it’s gone so far as pickle — yes, pickle.

Bases vary, sometimes harnessing the power of a cookie — as in Nilla Wafers, Oreos, Lotus Biscoff — and sometimes sticking with the tried-and-true graham cracker.

Pair it all with freshly squeezed orange juice, perhaps in a Tacoma Mimosa, mixed with malt liquor — likely Colt 45 with the possibility of a locally brewed substitute. If you’re fancy, you can opt for pét-nat (natural sparkling wine).

Side Piece will continue to operate as a daytime-only affair. Table seating is limited indoors with a sidewalk patio to come, but takeout is always an option.

“That’s been our bread and butter — we don’t want to lose that,” said Hailey, noting that customers appreciate it “for a whole bunch of reasons,” from having kids in the car to experiencing anxiety in social settings. “Those are the people who are the reason that we’re here right now.”

On that front, online ordering will show limited availability to accommodate customers ordering in-person, whether you snag a seat or take that biscuit to-go.

Stay tuned for the return of Becky, a multi-multi-layer chocolate cake.

SIDE PIECE KITCHEN

▪ 4704 S. Oakes St., Tacoma, sidepiecekitchen.com

▪ Starting Hours: Friday-Sunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m., opening Oct. 6 (extended hours TBA)

▪ Details: brunch restaurant serving biscuit sandwiches (most $10-$16) and cheesecake ($12 for a generous slice), coffee and select beer and wine

▪ How to order: limited pre-order available, but suggested to visit in-person for full experience; follow instagram.com/sidepiecekitchen for weekly specials and updates

▪ Recommended on first visit: Loud Pack, Sizzurup Sando, Croque Ma’damnnn +tomato jam; biscuits and gravy; any cheesecake!

This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 11:22 AM.