I had a wonderful first visit here, so I was excited to bring my husband and son this morning. Unfortunately, today’s experience was completely different- from cold coffee to low-quality, store bought food at a bakery that claims to celebrate “fresh, from-scratch flavors.”
My husband and I ordered drip coffee with half-and-half. What we received:
•Less than half a cup of coffee ($3.50 each!)
•Cold coffee that had clearly been sitting for a while.
•Coffeemate instead of half-and-half- despite being told they had half-and-half.
For anyone who enjoys quality coffee, Coffeemate is not a substitute for creamer. It’s an oil-based, highly processed, non-dairy creamer. Even McDonald’s and Starbucks serve real cream, yet a local bakery doesn’t?
Avocado toast should feature fresh avocados on high-quality bread with toppings to enhance the flavors. Instead, I was served:
• Pre-packaged store-bought guacamole, instead of fresh avocados (I know exactly what brand it is too)
•Low-quality basic bread
This is a BAKERY. Why am I being served store-bought ingredients instead of fresh, house-made food? If you’re not baking your own bread, at least source something high quality.
This “avocado toast” is what I’d expect from a hospital cafeteria serving healthy options or an airline breakfast, NOT a family-owned bakery. Let’s compare it to local competitors:
✔ First Watch: Fresh avocado, high-quality bread, and hot coffee with real cream
✔ The Brunch Collective: High-quality, fresh ingredients across the board
✔ Starbucks: Even they serve hot coffee with real cream
At a local bakery, I expect better quality than a corporate chain.
My husband ordered a cinnamon roll, expecting something freshly baked from, you know, a bakery. Instead:
• Stale, clearly not fresh
• Inconsistent temperature, which is evidence of being microwaved.
•The only redeeming part was the icing.
For a bakery, this is unacceptable. His cinnamon roll didn’t even look close to the picture the branding/content creator posted in his “review.”
My eggs were served stone cold. Not lukewarm—just cold. The only thing I ate was the fruit.
Service was slow, despite only two tables being occupied. After receiving half-filled coffees, I asked if we could have more. The staff said they’d bring more after it brewed. We waited 15 minutes, watching other tables get coffee while we were ignored.
After going to the counter and politely explaining our issues, I requested a refund for my meal and our coffees, which was granted. Then, the staff member asked if we wanted coffee to go. I said, “Yes, but with half-and-half, please.”
She disappeared to the kitchen and returned with two to-go cups of coffee and a creamer pitcher. When she handed it to me, she said “here is your half-and-half.” My husband poured it into his coffee and immediately knew something was off.
• Real half-and-half blends instantly.
• Non-dairy creamer does NOT blend the same way.
He tasted it. It was Coffeemate. Non-dairy artificial creamers have a classic artificial and mild chemical flavor.
She had poured Coffeemate into the pitcher and tried to pass it off as half-and-half.
Prior to this, I asked for a manager or owner, but the staff said no one was there & they were “short-staffed.” If you don’t have enough staff to run a bakery properly, then the owner should be there. Why are they short-staffed if they just opened the business?
Additionally, it is unfair to patrons to ask for tips BEFORE service. Tips should reflect service quality, and today’s experience didn’t deserve the 20% we gave.
I love supporting local, family-owned businesses, but they must set themselves apart with quality and integrity. Right now, The Southern Baking Company is not.
Their website states they are “celebrating heritage, hospitality, & fresh, from-scratch flavors.” Based on today’s experience? That could not be further from the truth.
I’ll give it some time before returning. I will certainly be back, and if they improve, I’ll be more than happy to update my review accordingly. But right now? They have a...
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