From Athens to Atlanta, the magic of bakeries has helped mark occasions big and small

My friend Dan Pelletier fondly remembers his first visits to Henri’s Bakery & Deli in Buckhead. “The smell when you walked in was worth the trip no matter what I bought,” he said.

However, for those of us who grew up in Athens or attended the University of Georgia, A&A Bakery, located downtown for decades, was, as Frazier Moore said, “the smelliest place on God’s green earth.

Credit: Hargrett Library

Credit: Hargrett Library

And, noted Nancy Garner Cerrato, “You could smell the bakery long before you walked in the door.”

At certain times in Athens we probably had the smelliest downtown around. In addition to A&A, Roslyn Marlow Wise said, you were “enveloped in the heavenly aroma of bread baked at Benson’s,” which made loaves of sliced ​​white bread sold in local grocery stores.

Credit: Cami Fowler

Credit: Cami Fowler

The first donuts I ever ate were the A&A glazed beauties that Dad brought home—leftovers from the break room of the bank branch he managed. A&A’s donuts were very popular, as was just about everything they made. Many church-going families in the downtown Athens area went to A&A after Sunday morning services to buy treats, and it was not uncommon for children to miss the church. Sunday school to sneak in there.

A&A also had a strong presence at UGA. My wife, Leslie, remembers going there for brownies after she started college, and the A&A cheese straws were a sorority and fraternity mainstay. Michael Simpson remembers stopping on his way to class to enjoy the “best cinnamon roll I’ve ever tasted.” Often the buns were still warm. Delicious beyond belief.

Even after graduation, when we were back in town visiting family, Leslie and I would stop by A&A for some of their delicious scented gingerbread men. As Annette Feather recalled: “No one could make gingerbread men like they could. My daughter knew she had done something very special when I brought them home to her.

Credit: Tom McConnell

Credit: Tom McConnell

A&A was also the local favorite for birthday and wedding cakes. Many little girls in Athens were celebrated with A&A’s legendary doll cakes, which featured a real doll in the middle, with the cake and icing around her shaped and decorated to resemble her hoop-skirted ball gown . The bakery also made cakes for special occasions, such as the five-tiered masterpiece (with the arch at the top) for the 150th anniversary of the UGA Alumni Society in 1984.

And A&A owner Robbie Lee Stone “made cakes that appeared in one of Kenny Rogers’ ‘Gambler’ movies,” recalls his granddaughter, Melissa Vickers.

It wasn’t just about the sweets. “The main thing I remember about A&A,” Suzanne Carter said, “was the bread rising with salt. My grandmother and our whole family loved it. He made delicious toast with butter and jam – the perfect combination of lightly salted bread and the sweetness of jelly.

Meanwhile, near us in the Five Points neighborhood of Athens, another bakery, Stone’s Ideal, was run by Herschel Stone, brother of A&A’s owner. Betz Lowery Tillitsky remembers that her favorites were lady locks (also known as cream horns), while her sister preferred their chocolate candies. Stone’s closed its doors toward the end of 1964, but, Tillitsky said, “I never forgot that warm, welcoming little shop.”

After graduation, Leslie was still at UGA, and a bakery called Black Forest opened near her home, in a former gas station across the street from the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School (now the campus of Health Sciences at UGA). I remember we went there shortly after it opened – the first time I had pralines!

Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

Once we got married and settled in Decatur, we went to Rich’s Department Store Bakery in the old North DeKalb Mall for birthday cakes. Mark Gunter remembers: “They had the best chocolate covered donuts and chocolate covered eclairs with cream filling. And their German chocolate cakes too. And their coconut cake! Rodney Owen said Rich’s Stores “was the best bakery in Atlanta in the 1970s.”

Sometimes for lunch I would go to Le Gourmet Bakery at the Peachtree Battle Mall because they made really good sandwiches. I remember one day in the early 1990s, standing in line behind Braves pitcher Tom Glavine, then one of baseball’s biggest stars. I was impressed that while he was making his decision, he allowed other customers to pass him by.

Credit: Bill King

Credit: Bill King

In the 2000s, we discovered Southern Sweets, located in a warehouse district near Decatur. Her old-fashioned chocolate cake (which actually turns out to be vegan!) has graced many a family birthday celebration, and her rustic, spiced apple pie is sublime.

Additionally, Leslie and our daughter, Olivia, are longtime fans of Alon at Morningside. During Olivia’s recent visit from North Carolina, they stopped at Alon’s and took home a bag of goodies, including croissants, shokolina cake, tiramisu torte and kouign-amann ( a sweet pastry made up of several layers of puff pastry).

Credit: Bill King

Credit: Bill King

And on a recent visit to my hometown, I stopped at Independent Baking Co. in Five Points, known primarily for its breads and pastries. I brought back several varieties of bread, including a fantastic French country bread that was particularly good toasted.

Meanwhile, over the holidays, Leslie had ordered chocolate chunk cookies for a visit from our son, Bill, and his family. Our granddaughter Nora was not yet 3 years old at the time and we gave her half of one of the treats. It was her very first chocolate cookie (mostly she had eaten vanilla wafers).

Credit: Bill King

Credit: Bill King

“You’re eating your cookie!” » said Jenny, his mother. Nora corrected her: “Chocolate biscuit.”

I think the next time they visit, we’ll have to go to a bakery and let Nora create some sweet childhood memories herself.

For many more bakery souvenirs, visit billkingquickcuts.wordpress.com. Bill King can be contacted at [email protected].

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