Greenville’s eateries are no slackers when it comes to all things fresh and delicious. Our town is a goldmine of independent bakeries, each with its own twist on all your favorite baked delights. Whether you’re looking for a quick breakfast bite or a one-of-a-kind cake for a special event, you’ll have plenty of excellent options to choose from. Here’s our list of just some of Greenville’s bakeries within a 15-minute drive of BJU.
Bossy Bakers
2-minute drive from campus
Website: bossybakers.com
Bossy Bakers is one of the newer bakeries on our list, and it’s the closest to campus — you could walk there from campus in six minutes. This bakery serves breakfast, lunch and to-go dinners, specializing in breads and pastries built from their own sourdough starter. With a range of savory and sweet flavors as well as vegan and made without gluten options, Bossy Bakers has something on their menu for everyone.
Their spacious bakery has plenty of seating in a bright, open space, should you choose to enjoy your purchase in-house. Their most popular single-serving items include their “Big Muffins” and their croissant morning buns — and their whole cakes, pies and sourdough loaves sell at lightning speed. This author highly recommends their savory scone, a fluffy breakfast delight flavored with kale and cheddar cheese.
They’re open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Stax Bakery
9-minute drive from campus
Website: staxs.net/stax-bakery
Once all owned by the same family but now owned separately, one of the famous Stax restaurants — Stax’s Original — has made it onto one of our other posts for its famously spectacular breakfasts. The Stax Omega Diner has gained national fame, included in Food Network’s 2019 list of 50 Best Diners, Southern Living Magazine’s 2017 list of The South’s Best Diners, and Travel and Leisure’s list of the top 16 diners in the South.
But Stax has even more to offer than their diners. Stax Bakery is a full-service bakery located next door to the Stax Omega diner. Their menu of baked delights includes cheesecake, cannoli, baklava, seasonal pastries, layer cakes, pound cakes, cookies and cupcakes. This bakery is dine-in, but they also provide catering for events and after-hours pickup for orders placed over the phone.
Stax Bakery is open every day of the week from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Old Europe Desserts
10-minute drive from campus
Website: oldeuropedesserts.com
If you want a sense of what a European pastry shop experience is like, look no further. Old Europe Desserts features an extensive menu of delicately flavored pastries, cookies, macarons, and cakes, as well as a long list of coffee options. Taste-tour Europe by trying their Austrian Sacher Torte, their Italian Panna Cotta, their French Pot de Crème or the more familiar German Chocolate Cake.
In classic European fashion, Old Europe Desserts caters to the later diner, with their hours extending late into the evening. They are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Old Europe Desserts may sound familiar, but it is not related to Old Europe Pastries previously mentioned in the day trip to Asheville, North Carolina post.
Le Petit Croissant
10-minute drive from campus
Website: lepetitcroissantgreenville.com
If you’re feeling fancy, Le Petit Croissant has a pastry menu packed with confectionary treasures that look almost too good to eat. Approach their menu with a French-to-English dictionary in hand so you’ll know whether you’re more in the mood for a Choco-Sphere (composed of “dark chocolate mousse, fresh berries, caramelized rice krispies croquant, chocolate cake” according to the menu) or a Passion Square (with “passion fruit mousse, chocolate cremeux with pure mango glaze on meringue crust”).
Many of their creations include eye-dazzling additions such as colorful mirror glazes and even 24K gold flakes. Le Petit Croissant ascends beyond the usual coffee-and-doughnut expectations for a southern bakery, but the one-of-a-kind culinary experience is worth the trip.
Le Petit Croissant is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Strossner’s
10-minute drive from campus
Website: strossners.com
Serving the Upstate since 1947, Strossner’s has been a favorite for generations of Greenvillians. As a full-service bakery and cafe, their menu is likely the most comprehensive on our list. Strossner’s offers cakes, pies, pastries, cookies, cupcakes, just to name a few items on their expansive menu. Drop by for brunch, lunch, dessert — or all three, if you’re feeling really adventurous.
While many of their creations are available to buy at their counter, you can also order custom cakes and other delicious treats in advance for a party or other event that needs something sweet. If you’re in the market for a wedding cake, Strossner’s has on-staff consultants to help you craft the cake of your dreams.
Strossner’s is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Bake Room
11-minute drive from campus
Website: commonsgvl.com/bakeroom
Located in The Commons in downtown Greenville (near Automatic Taco), Bake Room creates fresh laminated breakfast pastries and bread from locally sourced ingredients. Bake Room doesn’t boast the most extensive menu of the bakeries on this list, but it makes the cut thanks to Bake Room’s dedication to quality over quantity. Owner and baker Wade Taylor said in an interview with Edible Upcountry that “Bad bread is made quickly.” He takes the time with each batch of dough to make sure his carefully developed natural leavening process is working correctly. The result is bread and pastries that sell almost faster than Taylor can make them.
Bake Room is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Don’t miss the rest of our Around Greenville series to see more of what our city and the area around it has to offer.
