Sweet Magnolia's Cafe & Bakery — Restaurant in Gainesville

I live in Flowery Branch but recently took over Auto Fitness in Gainesville and I have been looking for a place just like Sweet Magnolia's. When my daughter visited me for lunch I thought we would try it out and I am so glad that we did. The minute we walked in I thought the place looked great and felt so clean. Made it to the counter and was told that it was family owned an everything was made fresh. We were made aware of the specials, the bread and the soup of the day. I am a Rueben sandwich nut and it's so hard to find a really good, authentic one and they nailed it. Fresh corned beef the right amount of sauerkraut and the thousand island was perfect. My daughter got the Cuban and it was also made to perfection. I understand the importance of word of mouth and reviews and if you haven't been to Sweet Magnolia's you've got to visit, you won't be disappointed. Now that I have found them, it will be my go to when I am craving something healthy (great salad menu) or just a fresh sandwich. Oh, the potato salad was so fresh and great as well. Thanks to this great place for changing the way I will be experiencing lunch, I'll be bringing members of my team here weekly as a reward for their work. Looking forward to coming back. Oh and it's worth circling the square multiple times to park close however I'd walk from the parking decks. Pete Bowbliss manager Auto Fitness...

This review is for takeout. We picked up food at 1:30 pm on a Monday. It was pretty crowded and tables were not socially distanced. They don’t require masks for customers, but employees were wearing masks. They do encourage social distancing with spots marked on the floor for waiting in line.

We got Rebecca’s Famous Chicken Salad Sandwich with Pasta Salad ($8.49). The chicken salad was very good. The sour dough was perfectly buttered and toasted. The Pasta Salad was too drenched in Italian dressing. I wouldn’t get that again. We also got the Turkey Club with Egg Salad ($8.49). The Turkey Club was fine. The Egg Salad was very mayonnaise-y, but it was nicely peppered. We would probably go with chips or just skip sides altogether if we were to go again.

You get in line to order, then you’re given a number to wait. I was surprised that they still use the physical numbers, especially in Covid times. That was gross.

The man who took our order, who I believe is the owner, was very nice and friendly.

Overall, Covid precautions could definitely improved, but the...

I've never had bad food here, I took off 2 stars and I'll explain why after I tell about what's good. I usually get the grilled shrimp wrap, it's dressed a lot like a gyro, and it's super yummy. They have an awesome Cobb salad, and really good chili as well. I took off the stars for a couple of reasons, they charge $2 for a side, whether it's chips or a cup of soup, chips with a sandwich is pretty standard for a place like this, but $2 for plain chips (only option) is pretty steep to me. They also say on the menu that the lemonade is homemade, but you can plainly see canisters of Countrytime Lemonade mix next to bottles of concentrated lemon juice on their back rack from the counter you order from. Lastly, this is the south, and I don't know a single person that eats soup or chili with club crackers, we eat saltines, they...