A new bakery and café is slated to open in Johns Island on Savannah Highway in 2024.
Permits were filed for the construction of a new building at 3919 Savannah Highway in Charleston to house local bakery Mae’s Sweets with Soul. The café is the work of Lillie Mae Smalls, an Army veteran and Ohio native who dreamed of opening a bakery just like the one she visited daily as a child.
Smalls began selling her home-baked goods at local pop-ups in 2019 under the name Mae’s Sweets with Soul, and her creations have quickly become popular within the community. Last year, she secured funding from the South Carolina Community Loan Fund to make her brick and mortar vision a reality.
Plans submitted to the City of Charleston Design Review Board show the bakery will be modeled after a traditional home, with a dining room, sitting area and a front porch for café customers to dine. Smalls tells WhatNow Charleston they plan to add a drive-through window for to-go service.
Mae’s Sweets with Soul’s breakfast selections will include coffee, tea and fresh-squeezed juices to drink along with muffins, turnovers and breakfast sandwiches on fresh croissants. Customers can also expect bakery staples like fresh bread and pies, and some of Mae’s specialty cakes: red velvet, coconut, carrot and german chocolate.
Smalls says quality and care set her bakery apart. “Everything is made from scratch with the finest ingredients available to me,” she said in a comment to WhatNow.
Building plans for the bakery will be reviewed in an August 7 meeting of the Design Review board. As they await their permits, Smalls says they hope to set a grand opening date for next year. Until then, customers can visit her website for updates.
