Southern Sweets Bakery

Southern Sweets Bakery Family-owned bakery handcrafting classic southern desserts, including gluten-free and vegan treats. What is the secret to their success?
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In 2022, Southern Sweets Bakery celebrates 30 years of bringing fresh baked pies, cakes and wonderful southern edibles to its patrons. It is not hard to find the answer if you spend any time with the bakery’s owner Nancy Cole as her exuberant passion for baking permeates every conversation. It all started when she was just three-years old, a little Nancy Cole would pull herself up to stand on a s

tool alongside her grandmother “Nana” while she prepared luscious desserts for their large family. As Nana worked her magic sifting ingredients, stirring liquids and preparing pans, Nancy stood there quietly taking it all in. A young, wide eyed Nancy watched her grandmother’s labor of love and listened to her Nana sing and hum beautiful melodies. These memories and lessons are now key ingredients to Nancy’s success. Young and eager three year old Nancy paid close attention to her grandma as she shared her cooking secrets and love of baking. When Nancy was given her first Easy Bake oven, it ignited her passion for baking. At age twelve she cooked her first Thanksgiving dinner complete with stuffing, vegetables, and real cranberry sauce. Her passion only grew from there and as a young mother of three, Nancy would wake her children up early every Friday morning and they would bake twenty loaves of bread for family, friends, and neighbors. Nancy’s passion turned into profession when a friend who delivered fruits and vegetables to a prominent Atlanta steakhouse mentioned that they were looking for apple and pecan pies. Knowing Nancy’s perfected skills of baking from personally receiving some of the Friday delicious baked bread, her friend encouraged her to get in contact with the restaurant. Nancy, now in a place where her children were in school and having some free time on her hands decided why not. She took the opportunity and called the restaurant. To her surprise, they gladly accepted the invitation to sample some of her baked goods. This was a twist of fate for Nancy, although baking was her passion, she had never baked pies before. Not one to back down from a challenge, Nancy stayed up all night baking, but the apple pie continued to have a large unwanted space between the pie filling and the crust. With integrity at stake she refused to compromise on her quality and rescheduled the appointment. Determined to master this skill, she called her Nana who offered her a tip for the apple pie “steam the apples ahead of time to prevent the space between the apple filling and the crust.” The once again wide eyed Nancy put her Nana’s advice to work to achieve her signature pie. This tip is still used today at Southern Sweets Bakery along with many of her grandmother’s other tips. Nancy spent the next night baking and preparing for the meeting with the steakhouse. After a stressful tasting with the general manager and head chef, the restaurant ended up ordering six of each which soon grew to an order twice a week. Little did Nancy know where this would go but she was in business and that prominent steakhouse has been good to her over the years, continuing to be one of her best customers today. After this humble beginning, the bakery’s reach continued to grow. In 1992 Nancy found a great out of the way building in Decatur, just blocks from the DeKalb Farmers Market to set up shop. Baking for over 20 restaurants and several hotels in the metro area she wanted to expand and offer their tasty delights to the public. A wonderful commercial baking kitchen was installed and the retail area with its lemon yellow walls and twirling ceiling fans was ready to greet the new retail customers. The bakery was making its weekly deliveries to restaurants, hotels, and businesses throughout the area and serving its growing walk in customers, but one day Nancy was challenged again. Many of the people working in the area who stopped in for a treat would ask about “real food”. There were just not a lot of options for them to grab a bite to eat in the vicinity. In response to this quest, the Southern Sweets Bakery began serving soup and sandwiches for lunch in 1998 and the bakery’s offerings continue to grow as today they have an extensive lunch menu and in 2012 they began serving great southern breakfasts like the fan’s favorite lox and bagels and Uriah’s buttermilk pancakes. With this introduction the bakery began to open earlier and expanded to seven days a week. Remember those kids Nancy used to wake up every Friday morning to bake the bread? Well, two of them caught the baking bug and today her daughter Ashley heads up the wedding cake department and son David manages the operations of the retail area at Southern Sweets Bakery. When talking about family, we must not forget the other employees who have assisted in making this company a success. Southern Sweets Bakery’s employees are considered family and this positive working environment is the other key ingredient to the bakery’s success. Nancy heart fully shared this statement: “We are grateful for being able to continue baking for the Atlanta community and could not have done it without our wonderful present and past employees.”
Today, 20 years later, Southern Sweets Bakery still operates the bakery in the remote Decatur warehouse district near the DeKalb Farmers Market and you can find Southern Sweets Bakery desserts on prominent restaurant menus all over the metro Atlanta area. Some of them quietly serve the scrumptious morsels and some of them having no qualms about sharing their dessert secrets. Anyone who stops by the Decatur bakery often can easily spot their signature creations throughout the community. Over the years they have added to the humble menu of apple and pecan pie and now they have something for virtually every sweet palette. Pies, cakes and treats which are gluten free or vegan can be found whole or by the slice. Visitors are always in for a treat at Southern Sweets Bakery. You are cordially invited to stop in and help us celebrate 20 years of baking in the Atlanta community. Enjoy our fresh, made to order, southern home-style morning or lunch fair. Whether you grab-n-go or linger over the last bite as you breath in the delectable aromas of the bakery, you are sure to enjoy what Nancy and her staff have prepared for you as they continue baking under the motto she learned from her Nana: “"Perfect Ingredients, Simple Preparation". All with a broad smile… come in and see us.

Give Mom flowers she can eat 💐🧁 Limited-time rose cupcakes available now!
05/08/2025

Give Mom flowers she can eat 💐🧁 Limited-time rose cupcakes available now!

🥳 Cinco de Mayo, but make it sweet. Swing by for a slice of our tangy, creamy Key Lime Pie — available vegan or classic!...
05/05/2025

🥳 Cinco de Mayo, but make it sweet. Swing by for a slice of our tangy, creamy Key Lime Pie — available vegan or classic! 💚🥧

She deserves something special 💕 Now taking orders for our 6” Mother’s Day cakes — available in chocolate or vanilla. Ma...
05/02/2025

She deserves something special 💕 Now taking orders for our 6” Mother’s Day cakes — available in chocolate or vanilla. Made from scratch. Served with love.

Our Citrus Surprise Cake is back for a limited time! Tangy, sweet, and topped with sunshine- it’s May’s cake of the mont...
05/01/2025

Our Citrus Surprise Cake is back for a limited time! Tangy, sweet, and topped with sunshine- it’s May’s cake of the month and your new obsession (again). 🍰🍊

Meet your new spring obsession: Blueberry Lemon Cake  🌷🫐🍰 One bite and you’ll understand why it’s a seasonal favorite.
04/21/2025

Meet your new spring obsession: Blueberry Lemon Cake 🌷🫐🍰 One bite and you’ll understand why it’s a seasonal favorite.

🐣 Make your Easter table extra special with our Carrot Cake! Pre-order yours today!
04/17/2025

🐣 Make your Easter table extra special with our Carrot Cake! Pre-order yours today!

Hop over to Southern Sweets Bakery for a taste of spring with our Easter Funfetti Layer Cake 🐰🍰 Available in store and o...
04/12/2025

Hop over to Southern Sweets Bakery for a taste of spring with our Easter Funfetti Layer Cake 🐰🍰 Available in store and online

Hop into spring with our Orange Blossom Pound Cake! 🍊🍰 Bursting with freshly squeezed orange juice and zesty citrus flav...
04/09/2025

Hop into spring with our Orange Blossom Pound Cake! 🍊🍰 Bursting with freshly squeezed orange juice and zesty citrus flavor, this sunny treat is topped with SSB's signature orange glaze. A seasonal favorite that's sure to sweeten your Easter celebration! ✨

That first bite of lemon blueberry cake after a long winter? It's magic! Come treat yourself. 💛🫐
04/07/2025

That first bite of lemon blueberry cake after a long winter? It's magic! Come treat yourself. 💛🫐

Hop quick—Easter cupcake pre-orders are filling fast! 🐇🧁🌸Choose from chocolate, vanilla, or both, packaged neatly in hal...
04/02/2025

Hop quick—Easter cupcake pre-orders are filling fast! 🐇🧁🌸
Choose from chocolate, vanilla, or both, packaged neatly in half-dozen or dozen boxes. 💕

The oven’s warm, the frosting’s whipped, and the April menu is LIVE! Don’t miss our limited-time Easter sweets—especiall...
04/01/2025

The oven’s warm, the frosting’s whipped, and the April menu is LIVE!

Don’t miss our limited-time Easter sweets—especially our Four Layer Carrot Cake, made with love, spice, and everything nice. 🥕🐰

Love at first bite? Our beloved Red velvet cake makes it official ❤️🍰
03/27/2025

Love at first bite? Our beloved Red velvet cake makes it official ❤️🍰

Spring is here, and so is one of our most requested seasonal favorites—Blueberry Lemon Cake! Try a slice on your next vi...
03/20/2025

Spring is here, and so is one of our most requested seasonal favorites—Blueberry Lemon Cake! Try a slice on your next visit! 🫐🍰

End your St. Paddy’s feast on a sweet note! 🍰🍀 Our March exclusives won’t be here forever—order your lucky slice today!
03/17/2025

End your St. Paddy’s feast on a sweet note! 🍰🍀 Our March exclusives won’t be here forever—order your lucky slice today!

The fan favorite is here! 🍫 Our Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake is making a month-long comeback. Grab a slice (or a ...
03/03/2025

The fan favorite is here! 🍫 Our Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake is making a month-long comeback. Grab a slice (or a whole cake) before it’s gone!

Available online and in stores 🍀

Tomorrow, we welcome back a dessert so good, it only comes once a year. 🤤🍀🍺  Can you guess what’s making a comeback?
02/28/2025

Tomorrow, we welcome back a dessert so good, it only comes once a year. 🤤🍀🍺 Can you guess what’s making a comeback?

02/26/2025

Last chance! Our Strawberry Chocolate Cheesecake is only here for a few more days. Don’t miss out—grab a slice before it’s gone! 🍓🍫✨

02/21/2025

Don’t wait! February’s Raspberry Amaretto Cake is leaving soon—grab a slice before it disappears! ❤️

Tiny treats, big love! 🍪💞 Our Mini Chocolate Hearts, Mini Macarons, and Cookie Hearts are the perfect way to celebrate V...
02/12/2025

Tiny treats, big love! 🍪💞 Our Mini Chocolate Hearts, Mini Macarons, and Cookie Hearts are the perfect way to celebrate Valentines. Grab yours in-store or order online today!

A little cake, a lot of love. 🎀✨ Pre-order our special Valentine’s 7” cake—chocolate or vanilla—and make their day extra...
02/10/2025

A little cake, a lot of love. 🎀✨ Pre-order our special Valentine’s 7” cake—chocolate or vanilla—and make their day extra sweet.

Meet the dessert of the February 🍫🍓 Layers of creamy strawberry infused cheesecake, crowned with  preserves and rich cho...
02/07/2025

Meet the dessert of the February 🍫🍓 Layers of creamy strawberry infused cheesecake, crowned with preserves and rich chocolate. Try it before it’s gone! 😋

Treat someone special (or yourself) to our limited Valentine’s Day rose cupcakes. 💘🧁Available now: 2-pack & 6-pack 💌
02/04/2025

Treat someone special (or yourself) to our limited Valentine’s Day rose cupcakes. 💘🧁

Available now: 2-pack & 6-pack 💌

Address

186 Rio Cir
Decatur, GA
30030

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

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Our Story

In 2017, Southern Sweets Bakery celebrated 25 years of bringing fresh baked pies, cakes and wonderful southern edibles to its patrons. What is the secret to our success? It is not hard to find the answer if you ever meet the staff who are hand picked because of their exuberant passion for baking. In the tradition of founder Nancy Cole, these employees continue her legacy as they strive for baking perfection. The bakery inspiration all started when Ms. Nancy was just three-years old and she would pull herself up to stand on a stool alongside her grandmother “Nana” while she prepared luscious desserts for their large family. As Nana worked her magic sifting ingredients, stirring liquids and preparing pans, Nancy stood there quietly taking it all in. A young, wide eyed Nancy watched her grandmother’s labor of love and listened to her Nana sing and hum beautiful melodies. These memories and lessons are now key ingredients to the bakeries success. When Nancy was given her first Easy Bake oven, it ignited her passion for baking. At age twelve she cooked her first Thanksgiving dinner complete with stuffing, vegetables, and real cranberry sauce. Her passion only grew from there and as a young mother of three, Nancy would wake her children up early every Friday morning and they would bake twenty loaves of bread for family, friends, and neighbors. Nancy’s passion turned into profession when a friend who delivered fruits and vegetables to a prominent Atlanta steakhouse mentioned that they were looking for apple and pecan pies. Knowing Nancy’s perfected skills of baking from personally receiving some of the Friday delicious baked bread, her friend encouraged her to get in contact with the restaurant. Nancy, now in a place where her children were in school and having some free time on her hands decided why not. She took the opportunity and called the restaurant. To her surprise, they gladly accepted the invitation to sample some of her baked goods. This was a twist of fate for Nancy, although baking was her passion, she had never baked pies before. Not one to back down from a challenge, Nancy stayed up all night baking, but the apple pie continued to have a large unwanted space between the pie filling and the crust. With integrity at stake she refused to compromise on her quality and rescheduled the appointment. Determined to master this skill, she called her Nana who offered her a tip for the apple pie “steam the apples ahead of time to prevent the space between the apple filling and the crust.” The once again wide eyed Nancy put her Nana’s advice to work to achieve her signature pie. This tip is still used today at Southern Sweets Bakery along with many of her grandmother’s other tips. Nancy spent the next night baking and preparing for the meeting with the steakhouse. After a stressful tasting with the general manager and head chef, the restaurant ended up ordering six of each which soon grew to an order twice a week. Little did Nancy know where this would go but she was in business and that prominent steakhouse has been good to her over the years, continuing to be one of her best customers today. After this humble beginning, the bakery’s reach continued to grow. In 1992 Nancy found a great out of the way building in Decatur, just blocks from the DeKalb Farmers Market to set up shop. Baking for over 20 restaurants and several hotels in the metro area she wanted to expand and offer their tasty delights to the public. A wonderful commercial baking kitchen was installed and the retail area with its lemon yellow walls and twirling ceiling fans was ready to greet the new retail customers. The bakery was making its weekly deliveries to restaurants, hotels, and businesses throughout the area and serving its growing walk in customers, but one day Nancy was challenged again. Many of the people working in the area who stopped in for a treat would ask about “real food”. There were just not a lot of options for them to grab a bite to eat in the vicinity. In response to this quest, the Southern Sweets Bakery began serving soup and sandwiches for lunch in 1998 and the bakery’s offerings continue to grow as today they have an extensive lunch menu and in 2012 they began serving great southern breakfasts like the fan’s favorite lox and bagels and Uriah’s buttermilk pancakes. With this introduction the bakery began to open earlier and expanded to seven days a week. Remember those kids Nancy used to wake up every Friday morning to bake the bread? Well, two of them caught the baking bug and today her daughter Ashley heads up the wedding cake department and son David handle some administration duties. When talking about family, we must not forget the other employees who have assisted in making this company a success. Southern Sweets Bakery’s employees are considered family and this positive working environment is the other key ingredient to the bakery’s success. Nancy heart fully shared this statement: “We are grateful for being able to continue baking for the Atlanta community and could not have done it without our wonderful present and past employees.” Ms. Nancy passed away in 2015 after a long battle with breast cancer. She is truly missed, however her staff and family have been determined to continue her legacy.

Today over 25 years later, Southern Sweets Bakery still operates the bakery in the remote Decatur warehouse district near the DeKalb Farmers Market. You can find Southern Sweets Bakery desserts on prominent restaurant menus all over the metro Atlanta area. Some of them quietly serve the scrumptious morsels and some of them having no qualms about sharing their dessert secrets. Anyone who stops by the Decatur bakery often, can easily spot their signature creations throughout the community. Over the years they have added to the humble menu of apple and pecan pie and now they have something for virtually every sweet palette. Pies, cakes and treats which are gluten free or vegan can be found whole or by the slice. Visitors are always in for a treat at Southern Sweets Bakery. You are cordially invited to stop in and enjoy our fresh, made to order, southern home-style morning or lunch fair followed by a yummy dessert. Whether you grab-n-go or linger over the last bite as you breath in the delectable aromas of the bakery, you are sure to enjoy what Nancy and her staff have prepared for you as they continue baking under the motto she learned from her Nana: “"Perfect Ingredients, Simple Preparation". All with a broad smile… come in and see us.