Joe HotchkissAugusta Chronicle
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If Southern hospitality could transform into a color, it could be pink – at least it is at Dolce Darlin’.
The bakery at 404 Telfair St. in downtown Augusta occupies an antebellum home painted bright pink,where owner Cat Musgrove changes the menu weekly with different types of cupcakes, pastries, breadsand even full-fledged entrees that can be taken home and baked in the oven.
Growing up in Tennessee, Musgrove didn't come from a strong family tradition of cooking or baking. The story of Dolce Darlin’ began while she lived in Italy, where “the Italians don’t do desserts the way we do in any capacity,” she said. “Even tiramisu is more of a savory dessert.”
When she started making American-style, frosting-laden cupcakes for get-togethers for other families living abroad, the expatriates asked Musgrove to make more “and it grew into all of this,” she said.
Later, after settling in Augusta, Musgrove's thoughts turned to opening her own bakery. While others look to God to open a door or a window of opportunity, she said she prayed: “Please don’t open a door or a window – kick it off its hinges."
After weeks of searching, she came across the building at 404 Telfair St., which had been the restaurant La Maison on Telfair before the sudden death chef Heinz Sowinski in 2015. It had sat empty and unused for about five years, so she spread word on social media promising pizza and sodas for a few people to drop by to help her fix the place up. More than 100 people showed up.
“It was such a magnificent display of what a community can do if, first of all, you communicate that there’s a need,” she said.
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The first Dolce Darlin’ menu consisted of pimento cheese, banana pudding and six types of cupcakes.
Today, there are typically about 25 menu items at any given time in Dolce's weekly-rotating food selections.Vegan and gluten-free options are available, but at no additional cost to customers, she said.
Some foods, however, Musgrovelearned to keep on the menu every week. When Dolce’s baked-daily blueberry scones were replaced one week with different flavors, a gentle but strong pushback from customers brought blueberry back on the menu to stay, she said.
Another favorite treat is Dolce’s version of the decadent cinnamon bread served to tourists at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. After trying the treat, she was determined to duplicate it and tweak it a bit. It doesn’t have a specific name in Dollywood, but at Dolce it’s Dolly Bread.
The name “was just something we used in the back, and then people started calling it Dolly Bread so its name was born,” Musgrove said.
Dolce’s interior is reminiscent of a grandmother’s house expecting company, with spare tables and chairs in each room. Musgrove helps pass that vibe to visiting children, who see the business’ name and refer to Musgrove accordingly.
“A little kid came to me the other day and she said, ‘Are you my aunt , Ms. Darlin’?' I said, ‘I am now,’” said Musgrove, before the girl melted the owner’s heart by saying, “‘This is like my family’s house!’”
Rooms are decorated in themes that representsources of happiness and personal inspiration for Musgrove. One room pays tribute to the classic film Steel Magnolias; another honors the movie The Princess Bride. Still another room spotlights the Bluebird Café, an unassuming-looking establishment in Nashville, Tenn., that has become a mecca for live country music performance.
Dolce is open only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but it can feel busier. Loyal crowds show up for special events for which Dolce plays host. Musgrove has held cooking classes, for adults and children, and supper clubs each featuring a new dish. Costumed characters to entertain children show up about twice a month. There’s even a reading program, in which children can earn free cupcakes for growing their reading lists.
Plans are in the works to clear the property’s back lot and install a raised stage or a pergola to hold outdoor events, such as a Supper Under the Stars or live music.
“What you choose to do with your life is really, greatly in your control,” Musgrove said. “It’s a lot about how much hard work you’re really, truly willing to put into it, how much you're willing to learn about what you need to do to make everything work.”
