{"id":2047,"date":"2026-04-01T06:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T06:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/?p=2047"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:11:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:11:50","slug":"bread-trust-and-the-work-of-carrying-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/bread-trust-and-the-work-of-carrying-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Bread Trust and the Work of Carrying on."},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.postcontent p {line-height: 150% !important;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"postcontent\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align:left;\">Annie Coleman and Flora &amp; Fauna are the perfect fit.<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">There is a particular calm that settles over Bull Street in the morning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Before the neighborhood fully wakes up, before the coffee lines and sidewalk conversations, there is the smell. Butter. Yeast. Heat. It drifts out of Flora and Fauna in a way that feels intentional, like a signal to the people who already know.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad_width1\">\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width2\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Inside, Annie Coleman is working. \u201cI\u2019ve realized after about ten years that I\u2019m back to bread,\u201d she says. \u201cBack to the simplicity of it. Or the perceived simplicity, because it\u2019s actually very complex.\u201d That sentence tells you almost everything you need to know about her.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Flora and Fauna has layers. People come for dinner. They come for pastries. They come for coffee, for a seat near the window, for something warm on a cold morning. What most people do not think about, at least not right away, is how the baking program came to be, or why it feels so grounded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-rt ad_width2\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flora-Fauna-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">That story starts long before this space, long before Savannah, and long before Annie ever stepped into a kitchen here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI\u2019m from South Carolina,\u201d she says. \u201cJust on the other side of the river. My family\u2019s been here a long time, so I have a lot of love and respect for this area, the cultures, the agriculture, the food.\u201d She started working in restaurants in high school, front of house at first, watching how kitchens and farms interacted, sometimes well, sometimes poorly. It stuck with her.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI started to see the relationships between chefs and farmers,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I wanted to carve out a space where those could be positive and fruitful for the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">That curiosity took her far from home. Culinary school. Baking in France. Years in Washington, D.C., working with chefs who treated sourcing as a responsibility, not a marketing line.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">&#8220;I wanted to take whatI learned and bring ot back down here,&#8221; she says. &#8220;And use those skills to support the community I grew up in and love.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Her path to the Farm Hospitality Group did not come through a job posting or a formal interview. It came through brunch.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flora-Fauna-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">While working in D.C., Annie would return south each year for Music to Your Mouth at Palmetto Bluff. One year, the chefs involved were invited to brunch at FARM. Annie and her partner, now husband, OB, went.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cWe met Brandon, kept up a little over the years,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen we moved down here, we reached out just to see what was going on in the culinary scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">She watched as Common Thread opened. The kind of food she loved to make. Seasonal. Thoughtful. Rooted.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad_width1\">\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width2\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI felt like we might have a place in the company,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">She joined a few months after moving, helping open Wildflower Cafe, now closed. When Cheryl Day approached the group about selling Back in the Day Bakery and continuing a bakery in that space, Annie\u2019s name surfaced naturally.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cIt was a perfect fit,\u201d she says. Perfect does not mean easy. Stepping into that building meant stepping into history. For more than two decades, Back in the Day Bakery shaped Savannah mornings. Biscuits. Cakes. A rhythm that locals trusted. Annie knew exactly what that meant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cIt was very intimidating at first,\u201d she admits. \u201cThere were days early on where I wished Cheryl would just walk in and start making biscuits for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Their first real introduction came quietly, through a mutual friend.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-rt ad_width2\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Annie-Coleman.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI finally worked up the nerve to introduce myself,\u201d Annie says. \u201cAnd Cheryl said, \u2018I know who you are. I\u2019ve been trying to get Brandon to buy this place so you can come in and bake.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">There are moments that change the trajectory of a career. That was one of them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI really felt the weight of that trust,\u201d Annie says. \u201cShe put a ton of faith in us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Cheryl felt it too. \u201cAfter 22 years on Bull Street, we wanted to be sure the space would be in good hands,\u201d Cheryl says. \u201cPassing the baton wasn\u2019t something we took lightly. Chef Annie stepped into the space understanding the legacy she was inheriting, and she has brought her own thoughtful voice and vision to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad_width1\">\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width2\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">That balance is what defines Flora and Fauna\u2019s baking program now. It does not try to recreate the past. It honors it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been here almost two years,\u201d Annie says. \u201cI think we\u2019ve created our own identity while still honoring what came before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Her identity is clear if you pay attention. Bread first. Seasonal expression. Precision without showmanship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI definitely see myself as a baker,\u201d she says. \u201cI started in bread baking. I went into pastry, restaurant pastry, but after all these years, I\u2019ve come back to bread.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Part of that is philosophical. Part of it is practical.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI\u2019m a new mom,\u201d she says. \u201cBaking shifts make sense for my life right now. We have a great team that handles dinner service, and I trust them completely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-rt ad_width2\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flora-Fauna-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Trust is a recurring theme here. It shows up in the details. The croissant hot dog that appeared over the summer after a trip to D.C. \u201cWe had a really good hot dog croissant up there,\u201d she says. \u201cOne of those moments where you think, we have to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">It shows up in the pimento cheese straws, made from croissant trim. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to waste anything,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad_width1\">\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width2\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cSo we sheet the trim back out, fold it together, twist it up. It\u2019s a French technique applied to something very Southern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">It shows up in who buys the bread. Brochu\u2019s. Lucia Pasta Bar. Garden Square. Uncle June\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly gratifying,\u201d Annie says. \u201cWhen the people you respect are serving your bread, it feels like confirmation.\u201d She pauses. \u201cIt feels like we\u2019re doing something right.\u201d Flora and Fauna is, at its core, a neighborhood place. Not because it says so, but because it behaves that way.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cThis time of year slows down,\u201d Annie says. \u201cAnd you really start to see who your regulars are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">She does not frame that as a problem. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see the base of the business,\u201d she says. \u201cTo create a space where people can come in, warm up, relax. Especially when it\u2019s cold out.\u201d The bakery team reflects that stability. \u201cAlmost everyone here has been with us at least a year,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width2\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Flora-Fauna-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">Pride without ego. Confidence without noise. That may be the defining quality of this place. Annie looks around the space, at the people she works with, at the neighborhood she grew up near and returned to on purpose.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">\u201cI\u2019m just grateful,\u201d she says. \u201cFor the team. For the guests. For the chance to do this the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:left\">And that might be the most Savannah thing about it. Not the building. Not the legacy. Not even the food, as good as it is. It is the quiet understanding that trust, once earned, is the most important ingredient of all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a style=\"width:100%;\" href=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Subscribe.html\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/September_2025_Issue-1.webp\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"authorbio\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad_width1\" style=\"padding:2%;box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);\">\n<h3>About The Author<\/h3>\n<div class=\"fl-lt ad_width6a\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom:0;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Brett.png\" alt=\"Brett\" style=\"width:100%;\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center; margin-top:0;\">Brett Bigelow<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"fl-rt ad_width6b\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left;\">\n        <!--Bio Text will Go Here-->\n      <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Annie Coleman and Flora &amp; Fauna are the perfect fit. There is a particular calm that settles over Bull Street in the morning. Before the neighborhood fully wakes up, before the coffee lines and sidewalk conversations, there is the smell. Butter. Yeast. Heat. It drifts out of Flora and Fauna in a way that feels [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[264,263,262,265,92,77],"class_list":["post-2047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-georgia","tag-savannah-ga","tag-savannah-tourism","tag-visit-savannah","tag-savannah","tag-savannah-georgia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2047"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2059,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047\/revisions\/2059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savannahmadesimple.com\/Magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}