In 2002, Cheryl and Griffith Day opened Back in the Day Bakery on Bull Street in Savannah. Over the next twenty-two years, they amassed a loyal following not just for their icing-laden cinnamon buns, flaky biscuits, and sea-salt-sprinkled cookies but for their hospitality—and the warm smell of rising dough, chocolate, and coffee. Earlier this year, Back in the Day closed as its owners moved on to a new chapter—but today, the bakery reopens its doors as Flora and Fauna.
“The Days are trusting us to carry on their legacy,” says chef Brandon Carter, a partner at the Bluffton-based FARM Hospitality Group, which runs four other beloved concepts in the area—Common Thread, Wildflower Cafe, FARM Bluffton, and a restored streamliner turned diner called Strangebird. (Inside Strangebird, the Days first told FHG Partner Jessica Carter, they were looking to sell the bakery.) After working out the details, the group started to think about how to reimagine a space so important to the community. “We wanted to create something that feels new, but that also feels like home,” Coleman says.
To that end, the space will feature the same ordering counter and the same floral patchwork of wallpaper that dances across an exposed brick wall. It’ll also have new aesthetic touches: A wall is coming down to open the space up, and reclaimed wood from the local sustainable nonprofit Re-Purpose pops up in benches, tables, and shelves.
Flora and Fauna is a two-for-one. “We’re going for two different atmospheres within the same space,” Coleman explains. At night, it will transform into a moody supper club–inspired dinner spot, offering a three-course seasonal menu and guest appearances from other chefs. During the daytime, it’s bright business as usual with a coffee house and bakery serving breakfast sandwiches and baked goods. “The bakery list is a world in itself,” Coleman says. “A lot of it is inspired by classic French pastry, but we’ll use local ingredients like flours from Anson Mills.”
And one very important menu item will remain to ease the transition and pay homage to the Days, Carter says. “We all agreed on this early on: Cheryl’s biscuit is going to be staying on the menu.”
