Sugar Bakeshop opened here at 59 ½ Cannon Street in early November 2007.
Our History
Owner Mia Maness purchased it in 2022 and is indebted to the original visionaries and owners – Bill Bowick and David Bouffard – for creating a space and concept that is inviting to all and never fails to improve Mia’s day and the days of the customers that cross the threshold in need of a sweet treat. Mia is also indebted to Candace Roberts, who bought the shop in 2019 when Bill and David decided to move on to a new challenge. Candace held down the fort throughout Covid and the shop emerged better than ever as the pandemic began to ease. That was when Candace decided she was ready for her next phase, and Mia was fortunate to learn that this could be her next adventure. Mia bought the shop and hasn’t looked back.
Sugar circa 2012
Mia Maness
Second Acts
Sugar’s owners have all come to it as second careers. Mia is a lawyer and practiced law here in Charleston for many years. Bill and David are both architects and have gone back to architecture, designing and building tiny houses on their property in Maine. Candace was a public servant in Mt. Pleasant before purchasing Sugar and has now moved on to a less structured lifestyle with many interests that keep her busy. Fortunately, she still comes by to visit with us on a regular basis. We are always happy to see her!
The Next Chapter
There have been multiple people that have influenced the arc of Sugar’s development, but through the years Sugar has become a separate entity from all of those people. She has a following separate from her owners and, in a book or movie, Sugar would be a character unto herself. We are coming up on Sugar’s 20th anniversary and will be looking for fun ways to celebrate her. Let us know if you have any suggestions.
The people who make Sugar happen every day
The personalities and hands that make and serve our daily treats are a large part of what makes Sugar Sugar. Sugar would not be the same without them.
The local businesses who make our quality possible
We use local products and ingredients whenever possible - eggs year round, strawberries in the spring, blueberries and peaches in the summer, and apples and squash in the fall when we turn to Thanksgiving pies. The Adluh flour we use in our cakes and cupcakes is milled in Columbia, South Carolina, from wheat grown in South Carolina. Cornmeal and rice flour come from right down the road at Marsh Hen Mill, near Edisto Island, and are also locally grown.