Back In The Day Bakery Is Gone But Never Forgotten

The dream of any business owner is to become a cherished part of a community, and the kind of place that’s a must-do for locals and visitors. Whenever we write a guide to visiting Savannah, or ask locals there for their favorite spots, Back In The Day Bakery inevitably comes up. The pastry shop, which opened in 2002 by husband-and-wife team Cheryl and Griffin Day, drew lines down the block for its golden biscuits, cookies pooled with chocolate and dusted with flaky salt, and cinnamon buns slathered with icing. 

Back In The Day Bakery's Impact

Lots of bakeries sell these very things (although not nearly as good), but few bakeries exude the genuine warmth and hospitality found at Back In The Day. No matter what kind of day you’re having, if you walked through the doors into the pastel-colored shop and smelled the rich aromas of butter and chocolate, you can’t help but feel happy inside. “If you know Cheryl or have visited her store, you know that those signature colors permeate every facet of her person, pastries, and bakeshop,” wrote writer Keia Mastrianni in a piece honoring the bakery for—yet again—landing on our annual South’s Best Awards list.

Beyond the baked goods, Cheryl and Griffin used their space and their name to help give back and support their community, and the greater South. In 2020, Cheryl co-founded Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice, which raises money to help support restaurants and others committed to fighting racism and oppression. She is also a leader in the Bakers Against Racism movement, which raises money through bake sales across the country. 

In her incredible cookbook, A Treasury of Southern Baking, Cheryl writes about the industrious matriarchs in her family, including her great-great-grandmother, Hannah Queen Grubbs, who was an enslaved pastry chef renowned for her biscuits and cakes. Grubbs’ influence on Cheryl’s life and career is apparent throughout the book. While the look, feel, and the sweets sold in Back In The Day had a nostalgic appeal, Cheryl made it a priority to educate and remind people about the origins of Southern food, and the complexities of our region. 

In the introduction, she writes: “Most of the Southern recipes we know and love today were created by enslaved or formerly enslaved women who were cooks and bakers just like my great-great grandmother. Their recipes were passed down through oral accounts and eventually made their way onto the page, but that is where the origin stories often get twisted, and to this day, unraveling the details can only be described as a delicate dance on eggshells. It’s been said that history is written by the visitors, and when it came to the recipe books from that era, they were written by white women who took credit for the creations of their Black cooks. I’m fortunate enough to have Hannah’s handwritten recipes to show me their true origins.”

The Next Chapter

The loss of Back In The Day is a major one, for the city of Savannah and for anyone who loves a pink-frosted cupcake. But baking and hospitality is in Cheryl’s blood. And there will be new ways for her and Griffin to share their talents and passion. Whenever their next venture opens, we’ll be first in line.