By Vanessa Lantos Daly (Spicy Melon)
May 24, 2025 – The building doesn’t have a sign yet, but they don’t even need it. Everyone knows what this place is, and more importantly, what to expect when coming in for a visit.
Buttery, savory, and sweet perfection.
Even if you’ve never set foot in Auspicious Baking Company, there’s a good chance you’ve tried their baked goods. Many local coffee shops stock their pastries, plenty of offices use them for catering, and several local restaurants serve their bread.
They’ve become the city’s standard for excellence in baked goods, with a perfect crust and that luxurious, signature buttery taste in their pastries.
Arguably the best croissant in the city.
It is so consistently good that their local following naturally grew… to the point of needing a bigger baking space. They bought the former Paula Deen’s Creek House last year, and now their bakery, or should I say production house, resides at 104 Bryan Woods Road.
They still have their O.G. location at 7360 Skidaway Road, which was originally their main bakery. But now it functions mainly as a café and pastry shop.
The move wasn’t a complete fairytale. Their entire dining room floor had to be replaced during the renovation. It was drooping, and upon closer examination, it turned out to be built on top of an old deck with no footers. A big project right off the bat. Many of us have known Katie and Mark Ekstrom since the beginning and watched them grow. My husband Oisin was actually trained by Mark as a server at 17Hundred90 Restaurant about eight years ago, and shortly after he would tell me, “My friends opened a bakery, we should go support them and get some bread. It is super tasty.”
This was at the very beginning. It’s amazing to watch something bloom and transform.
Auspicious Baking Company fully moved their baked goods production to their new location on Whitemarsh Island on Valentine’s Day this year from their original Sandfly location. And just as suddenly, they opened up their dining room for breakfast, brunch, and lunch service on Monday, May 5th. Quietly, as they put it, and with a refined menu.
Jefferson O’Neal, who recently worked his last shift as a bartender at 17Hundred90, just became the General Manager for the restaurant portion of Auspicious Baking Company, named Bread and Butter.
I came to visit their freshly opened dining room and sat down with Jefferson and Mark for a chat. Before getting to the dining room, you pass the ethereal pastry display and shopping counter.
Mark shares, “We weren’t looking for a restaurant. We were really looking for a place to move our production to, since we outgrew our Sandfly location. We really needed a place to be able to produce and support our wholesale accounts, so when we were looking for a property our realtor showed us this one… and Katie fell in love. Every showing after that one compared back to this location. There was good infrastructure and good bones here, but the restaurant was our five-year goal. We just tied it all up in one big bundle.”
Just stepping into the dining room and looking around, with the natural light and the beautiful wood finishes, I instantly thought, « This place would be amazing for a wedding »
And it was! The first one being Mark and Katie’s this past November.
Mark shares, “We got the restaurant and got married, all in the same year. We had all our family and friends come, and Jefferson officiated it.”
I have known Jefferson for many years, but I wasn’t aware how deep his relationship with Katie and Mark was. He has been a longtime friend of the couple; they were even roommates at one point.
Mark shares, « Jefferson was a big part of us settling into Savannah. He became a great friend as soon as we got here.”
Jefferson smiles, “I remember them selling bread out of their car. It is amazing how far they have come. We were back-alley neighbors on Gaston Street many years ago, and I was running Boar Head’s Tavern at the time. I found out that they were both servers and she was a cook. So I got them both to come work over, and they loved it. We worked at Boar Head’s together for a long time. Then Mark left to go to 17Hundred90, and when he went full bakery mode I took his place at that restaurant.”
Mark adds, “I used to work under Jefferson. He was my manager 16 years ago when we first moved here. The best manager I ever worked with. Knowing Jefferson’s knowledge, since he has opened several bars and restaurants and worked at some great places here in town, when the opportunity came for him to be interested in working here, it meant a lot to Katie and me. Having your friends in business is one thing, but having a friend who is very knowledgeable in operations and startups takes a lot off Katie’s and my shoulders as we are building up two locations and a 10,000-square-foot bakery and restaurant.”
You would think that with the level of success they now have, Katie and Mark would take a step back and become managers for their dream business. And yet… they are still extremely hands-on.
I asked sheepishly, who is your head chef? Jefferson looked at me surprised, « Ummm, Katie is the chef. »
I blinked back incredulously, « …What? »
Jefferson continues, “She is the owner and head chef. She is a beast. She comes in at 2 a.m. to help the bread team make all the breads, then shows up to work the line for breakfast and lunch. She also runs all the social media and hiring. She is incredible. Mark does everything else, and he is usually the face of the company that people see, since Katie is so busy. I don’t think these kids sleep.”
I listened to Jefferson completely in awe. Having worked in restaurants for years, I have seen many owners organically transition to managers from cooking and producing.
Mark shares, « I think we have another year. We are building up the right team to focus on the business rather than being in the business. Katie and I started out as operators. We are continuing to learn how to be business owners instead of operators, since we enjoy it all. We enjoy being hands-on, but we are learning that in order to continue to grow and have the successful business that we want, we need to bring in people who have more knowledge than us in certain aspects. »
At a glance, Bread and Butter’s menu is simple, but the offerings are unapologetically decadent in a fully bread-loving, hedonistic way.
Mark shares, “Katie created this menu. It is full of nostalgia-based items, things we had when we were traveling, or things we enjoyed when we were growing up. For example, the blueberry muffins. That is something that a local restaurant back at home used to do — serving complimentary blueberry muffins when you sat down. That is something she held onto and wanted to include in the Bread and Butter experience.”
Upon taking a seat to dine in, you are presented with fluffy complimentary blueberry mini muffins. Not too sweet or crumbly, just right. And rich, velvety butter to complement them.
Jefferson shares, « So far, the shareables are our most popular items, since they are such showstoppers. People can’t help but look when they are brought out. That cinnamon roll is bigger than my head. You can also order half portions of all the shareables except the cinnamon roll, which is one piece. »
Among the shareables are the « Fried to Order Doughnuts ». SarahGrace Salzl, their sous-chef for the past two years, shares, “These are made with brioche dough and fried to order. Then half are tossed in a light, thin crispy vanilla glaze, and the other half in a lemon sugar with lemon zest. They are served with a thin house-made strawberry jam for perfect dipping.”
SarahGrace was instrumental in developing the menu for Bread and Butter.
For savory options, there’s the « Shakshuka Croissant », a Mediterranean-inspired dish with veggies, stewed tomatoes, and a poached egg in the center. It’s generously portioned and shareable as well.
Also, for a great lunch item, the « BLT Squared » features their famed butter croissant with tons of bacon, fried egg, arugula, marinated tomatoes, and tomato aioli. Finished with a pickle and skinny fries.
That tomato aioli is something else…
They are currently awaiting their liquor license and actively planning to have an amazing house-made Bloody Mary. Also on the menu will be the mandatory array of brunch champagne cocktails and a fresh mocktail menu as well.
Future plans include opening for dinner service, functioning as a venue for weddings and other events, and even offering baking classes on site!
With their reasonably priced and flavorful menu, I call this place baked goods paradise and it’s a great place to bring a loved one or someone from out of town who you want to truly wow.
No matter where you live in Savannah, and even if your next-door coffee shop carries Auspicious croissants, this place is worth the drive.
Go get yourself some fabulous brunch with a view.
Love always,
Vanessa
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