MEMPHIS, Tennessee — To a throng of dedicated supporters of Muddy’s Bake Shop, the news that their favorite bakery landed on Southern Living’s list of “The South’s Best Bakeries 2021” came as no surprise.
While the original location opened in 2008, the bakery now is open for business at 2497 Broad Avenue in Binghampton.
From Southern Living:
There is an old adage that teaches when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, or in the case of a small town bakery, you just make bread and sweet rolls.
In a year that saw life-as-we-know-it come to a screeching halt—schools close, travel restricted, and businesses struggle to stay open—small town bakeries found themselves in a unique position to discover new business models (develop virtual baking classes), branch out in new directions (use idle kitchens to cook meals for families in need), and, as always, serve their community, the very heart of their business (donate food to front-line workers).
Every day, so many owners and employees of small town bakeries across the South rise before the sun to knead bread dough, shape sweet rolls, and frost cakes, all done with a passion to prepare delicious, quality items and a desire to give back to their friends, neighbors, and other business owners. It may be tucked away on a side street way off the interstate, but these bakeries enjoy a host of loyal customers (both local and nationwide, thanks to internet sales) who drop by for a cup of coffee, a sandwich, a sweet roll, and a reminder of what life is like in a small town in the South.
Here’s how Southern Living described Muddy’s Bake Shop:
Opening a bakery on February 29 really took a leap of faith but, in 2008, that is just what Kat Gordon did. Armed with old family recipes, she left a career in real estate to pursue her passion for traditional Southern baking and was overwhelmed by the response of the people of Memphis.
From the earliest days when customers would stay and help ice cupcakes or fold boxes, Gordon has been grateful for the community that continues to support Muddy’s. Now, even with national recognition and a thriving online presence, Gordon stays devoted to Memphis and looks for ways to help local causes and other small businesses. She believes that her bakery is “best able to love and serve others when we are small and the relationships between baker, server, and guest are visible and so clearly mutual.” Order online, sign up for a virtual baking class, or simply pop by the bakery for the ever-popular Prozac Cupcake—a decadent, devil’s food chocolate cake with luscious buttercream frosting.
