Bartlett resident and restaurateur Monique “Chef Mo” Williams is focused on bringing new and interesting dining experiences to her customers in Bartlett.

Having just retired in August after 24 years as a clinical researcher and project manager for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and various pharmaceutical companies, Williams had juggled her full-time job and various food industry endeavors for more than a decade.

“I’ve been trying to balance the two for years, and finally I just decided life is short and after COVID, I’m going to do what I really want to do,” Williams said.

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Before the pandemic, she drew up a concept for a new restaurant she wanted to open in Bartlett. She invited a couple of her business colleagues to partner with her.

“A breakfast spot where you can get dressed up or dressed down, with really cute décor,” Williams said. “Our goal was to create something in our own lane that was a little different than what’s already in the Bartlett area.”

Being a “born and raised Midtown girl” who went to Central High and graduated from Christian Brothers University, she wanted to open a place with the feel of the boutique restaurants of Midtown and Downtown Memphis.

“My thoughts were, ‘Let’s bring something like that out here,’” she said.

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As a self-described foodie her entire life, she learned about cooking from her grandmother, so she named the new restaurant Biscuits & Jams after her grandmother’s homemade biscuits and fresh preserves.

“That’s one of the staples for me growing up. She was a pastry cook, and jams — she made preserves and things like that. It’s something that resonated from my childhood,” Williams said.

“Jams” also is a play on words referring to the restaurant’s live music featured on Saturdays and Sundays as well as a revolving soundtrack of Stax classics, plus Aretha Franklin, Elvis, the Bar-Kays, B.B. King and more.

“We enjoy the music,” Williams said.

An equally creative menu features fresh takes on a variety breakfast favorites such as waffles (the “Blueberry Hill” lemon blueberry), French toast (the “Rum Boogie” made with dark rum sauce), biscuits (the “Down Home Blues” made with red smoked sausage and drizzled in molasses) and even cocktails (a cotton candy-topped strawberry mimosa).

“Liquors give food some of the best flavors,” Williams said. “Our Whiskey Bacon Jam is made with Tennessee whiskey to go on our breakfast burger.”

Another top seller is the Shrimp & Crawfish Creole Benedict.

“I like the New Orleans, Cajun feel of food, and I just like playing with different flavors,” said Williams, former owner of Pat-A-Cake’s Bake Shop in Cordova and current owner of the Laura’s Kitchen (also referencing her grandmother) food truck and commercial kitchen. She is also part-owner of Trap Fusion restaurants in Whitehaven and Cordova.

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“So Biscuits & Jams will get a chance to get some of those desserts like sweet potato pecan pies and different pound cakes, so we can expand our menu,” she said.

She loves her location, which features an outdoor patio, in the Bartlett Station Historic District northwest of Stage Road and the railroad tracks.

“The Bartlett Station Commission has long been searching for a breakfast/brunch place to anchor daytime for the station,” Glen Mullins, Bartlett Station Commission chairman and a leader with the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce, said. “We’re very proud to have Biscuits & Jams act as that anchor.”

He points out that business has been booming for Biscuits & Jams since they opened.

“We hope that Bartlett will continue to support them and all of Bartlett Station’s small businesses,” Mullins. “And who doesn’t like their tag line? ‘We got the Biscuits Mane!’”

Williams hopes to expand the Biscuits & Jams concept possibly to other cities in the next year.

“I’m not sure if it will be in Memphis. One of my partners is in St. Louis,” Williams said.

She also just secured a ghost kitchen location off Whitten Road in Memphis for Laura’s Kitchen. Customers will be able to purchase desserts from DoorDash and Grubhub, and the kitchen will be used for supplying desserts and baked goods for Biscuits & Jams.