Cakes, biscuits and ‘Redneck Caviar’: A new bakery opens its doors in West Columbia

The ovens are heating up over in West Columbia.

Breads and Such, a new bakery owned by a trio of former education colleagues, has opened its doors at 1220 C Ave. in the Triangle City section of West Columbia. The new bakery is in the location that was formerly home to Parkland Cakes, which closed earlier this summer after being there for many years.

Co-owner Chris Moore was working hard in the kitchen Wednesday morning, adding the various ingredients to a batch of sweet potato muffins and popping them into the oven. He said the shop will have a host of baked goods and other fresh offerings. Those include breads, cakes, biscuits (including breakfast biscuit sandwiches with homemade sausage and other delights), pimento cheese, chicken salad, pasta salad, roasted pork loin and even a delicacy Moore calls “Redneck Caviar,” which is a relish that includes pinto beans, corn, black eyed peas and other ingredients.

(For the record, a reporter purchased a fresh-out-of-the oven cinnamon raisin biscuit. It was beyond tasty. It’s the kind of thing you write love poems about.)

Moore is a retired assistant principal who worked in the Lexington 2 school district for 28 years. His co-owners in the bakery include CR Hall and Bobby Johnson. The three worked together, in various capacities, for a time at New Bridge Academy in Cayce.

Breads and Such opened its doors officially on Tuesday, and Moore said the response from friends, family and new customers has been solid so far.

“We are thrilled to be here,” he said. “We are here and we love to serve people.”

Moore said he has been cooking and baking for a long time. He noted that, when he was in education, he would try out different recipes and offer them up to co-workers.

“Oh, I’ve been cooking for my faculty for years,” Moore said, with a chuckle. “They have been my guinea pigs, they just didn’t realize it.”

Breads and Such also takes special orders, and will have a host of tailgate packages for the upcoming football season. The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.