Melinda’s Bakery and Cafe owner Melinda Speir holds some bourbon bread pudding she made inside her LaFayette restaurant.If you go
Melinda’s Bakery and Cafe is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The business is open to booking parties seven days a week. People can call ahead to reserve the private dining area. To contact the store, call 706-996-8199.
Melinda’s Bakery and Cafe has expanded and is now in a new location. The bakery was originally across the street, then became Charlie’s Cafe before taking a break and reopening last fall in the new spot.
The new space has all-new flooring and paint with old-fashioned decor throughout, like aprons and rolling pins passed down over generations. The 2,000-square-foot space at 117 W. Villanow St. in LaFayette can seat 35 in the main dining area and 65 total including the private dining area.
Owner Melinda Speir said people are already booking holiday parties for the private dining area.
“I enjoy visiting with customers that come in on a first-name basis,” said Speir, a native of LaFayette. “A lot of the decorations here came out of my attic. My husband’s great-grandmother’s aprons hang on the wall. I have my husband’s great-grandmother’s rolling pin too.”
Speir started baking at age 13. She remembers baking a Jiffy cake mix for her father. Then, her mother taught her how to make layer cakes.
“I grew up in an era where you baked everything from scratch,” Speir said, adding that she wants to continue that tradition. “One of my fondest childhood memories was going to Durden’s Bakery every day after school in town and buying a cupcake. Now, I love to eat red velvet cake, coconut cake, my mother’s layer cake with chocolate icing, and lemon pies.”
Speir has been in the food service business for 16 years and used to work as a hairstylist prior to that.
“Dad [Charlie Shell] wanted to fix this place for me,” she said, referring to her father’s dream for her to have a larger space. “We have a grilled cheese totally different than any other in town. My club [sandwich] is a big-seller. My muffalettas are big-sellers. Meatloaf sandwiches are real big [sellers] too. My two main sellers for salads are a Cobb salad and a cranberry walnut salad. We have a different soup and sandwich special every day.”
The bakery carries vintage pound cakes and bourbon bread pudding and will even special-make specific cake recipes for customers.
“I’m the only place in town that does cream horns and old-fashioned thumbprint cookies,” Speir added.
For the sandwiches, she said she uses Boar’s Head meats and condiments.
“I want to work and do this as long as I can,” she said. “It’s something I really like and enjoy. This is what I wanted all along.
“People really like coming in here and having their business meetings here. Melissa Lankford bakes with me and Alli LeCroy Silvers is a server here. Alli is very friendly. People really like dining here.”