Charleston is opening bakeries faster than it can keep them.
Annie Mae's, Grit, Girl Nextdough, Cakette, a fourth BkeDSHoP. The last couple of years have brought a wave of new shops, with more coming to downtown and Summerville. “There's definitely been a little bit of a renaissance,” Annie Vieira, co-owner of Annie Mae's Bakeshop, told the Post & Courier.
And then the other side of the ledger. Butcher & Bee and Browns Court both closed in 2023. Tiller Baking Co. closed in January. When Brown's Court went down, nearly 60 restaurants and hotels lost their bread supplier overnight.
Here's the part nobody orders with their morning croissant: the margins are brutal.
Paula Kramer, co-owner of Baguette Magic, also co-owns the restaurant Kultura, and says the bakery is by far the harder business. She estimates Baguette Magic does triple the transactions Kultura does. “I now have other restaurants, and I wonder all the time why I do the bakery thing. And it's because I love it, but it's a much harder business.”
Everything works against you. Wholesale requires expensive equipment and scale. Anything unsold at close isn't fresh enough to sell tomorrow, so it's just a loss. Bakeries stack on coffee programs, catering, farmers markets, anything for a second revenue stream. Annie starts baking at 3:45 a.m. and is asleep by 7 p.m. “It is very much a go, go, go kind of job,” Vieira said.
So why do it? The recognition is finally coming. Weltons Tiny Bakeshop just landed a James Beard finalist nod for Outstanding Bakery. But ask the owners and it's simpler than awards. “I think the heart and soul of every bakery I've ever been to is to nourish their communities through mornings and celebrations,” said Hannah Welton of Weltons. “You're kind of part of everyone's life in some way.”
A loaf of bread, she said, can go a long way. Support your bakery. The math is harder than it looks.
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