Owners Nathan and Chasity Brown
Daddy's Girls Bakery, an eatery serving scratch-made desserts, will open its first brick-and-mortar location in the 2021B Reynolds Avenue development in North Charleston on January 1st, 2021. The bakery says they will offer a selection of daily made cupcakes, cakes, Charleston chewies, and other treats.
Founded in 2011 by local couple Nathan and Chasity Brown, the concept started as a hobby when Chasity made her eldest daughter's four-year-old birthday cake to rave reviews from family and friends. They next began baking Nate's family recipe of Charleston Chewies, which he learned from his Auntie Landa.
“A Charleston Chewie is a brown sugar brownie, that melts in your mouth and is highly addictive,” Nate said.
The couple, who started selling their desserts (to rave reviews) in local salons and barbershops in their neighborhood, soon realized that they had a talent with baked goods, and their bakeshop was born. Before long they opened a kiosk at the Charleston International Airport, a stand at the Charleston Farmer's Market, and a booth at the downtown Charleston Night Market.
Now, nine years later with five children total (including two sets of twins!), the business has grown in all facets.
“As the name implies, this really is a family business,” Nate said. “As the eldest child growing up, I was responsible for helping my mom in the kitchen where I unintentionally learned our family recipes. I had no idea it would come full circle where now that culinary knowledge is the foundation for our family's business as well as a foundation for a new business development in our community.”
The location of the bakery on Reynolds Avenue is part of a large community effort to revitalize a once vibrant hub of economic activity and community business in North Charleston. The building was mostly dilapidated before being purchased by Metanoia, a local non-profit company. The building shares spaces with Quan's on King, as well as offices and classroom space for Metanoia, which hopes to bring in more minority-owned businesses soon.
The Browns said they have worked closely with renowned local architect David Thompson on the space. Additional businesses along the corridor on Reynolds Avenue that are a part of the regrowth efforts are: Reynold's Laundromat, St. Matthew's Baptist church, an old Drug Store being renovated by Mike Veeck (a co-owner of the Charleston River Dogs), Smitty's Barbershop, JR Rowell Printing, Shorty's Cold Beer & Food, Grifter, an artist studio, Crazy Dutchman Catering, The Grand Rooster, and an LGBTQ services hub. The goal is to make sure that space remains affordable and gentrification doesn't take over.
“With a goal of supporting black-owned businesses in our community with Lowcountry Local First, we are very excited about partnering with Daddy's Girls Bakery to bring them to Reynolds Avenue,” Reverend Bill Stanfield, the CEO and co-founder of Metanoia, said. “We have worked hard to provide them a space that will be great for their business because their business will be great for our community. We are looking forward to enjoying all their delicious offerings soon!”
The Browns enrolled in Lowcountry Local First's (LLF) Community Business Academy, a 12-week program under its Good Enterprises Initiative designed to support local sustainable entrepreneurship and equitable business development. The Browns were a part of the first class that completed the course successfully in Fall 2019. Shortly thereafter, they entered the next phase of the program called Business Accelerations Services. Six months later, in May 2020, they were set to open their first brick-and-mortar location with LLF incubating their new location and subsidizing their rent through their Business Acclerator Services, before COVID concerns delayed the opening.
Set to open January 1st, 2021 (assuming it's safe with COVID), the bakery will offer chewies, cupcakes, cookies, cheesecakes, and specialty cakes as well as Riptide coffee and cold brew, cold beverages, and select Park Circle Creamery ice cream flavors. The menu will have seasonal offerings but some of the flavors they may offer include:
- Cupcakes – Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Red Velvet, Lemon, Carrot, Black & White, Oreo, Strawberry Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cheesecake, Banana Pudding, Key Lime and Pineapple Right Side Up
- Cookies – Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Butter and Double Chocolate Chip
- Cheesecake – Plain (or with added fruit toppings: Strawberries, Blueberries, or Raspberry), Strawberry Crunch, Red Velvet, Peach Cobbler and Pineapple Right Side Up
For more information, visit their website at https://daddysgirlsbakery.com/ or follow along on Instagram @daddys_girls_bakery and Facebook @daddysgirlsdesserts.
