Sourdough hobby grows into bakery café plan in downtown Aiken

Molly Newman’s pandemic sourdough hobby had already outgrown the kitchen by the time it reached downtown Aiken. What began as at-home baking during the shutdowns turned into a storefront plan for Thorough Bread Bakery & Cafe, a shop built around the same loaves Newman first shared with friends, family and then customers who kept coming back for more.

Newman, a former California science teacher, said she baked heavily during the pandemic, improved her sourdough technique and eventually started giving away loaves. That informal word-of-mouth demand became farmers market sales after she moved to the East Coast in 2023. She said the response was strong enough that she kept selling out and could not keep up with the pace.

To meet that demand, Newman turned her laundry room into a bakery, added a commercial oven and mixer and pushed production to about 150 loaves a week. The operation reflected the scale shift many home bakers dream about but few execute: a tighter routine, more repetition and a formula disciplined enough to hold up under volume.

Thorough Bread Bakery & Cafe was expected to open later this fall at 115 Laurens St. in downtown Aiken, inside the Holley Building at 113-115 Laurens Street SW. Colliers says the building dates to 1901, and the South Carolina Historic Properties Record identifies 115 Laurens St. NW as the former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. That setting gives the project a strong local anchor in a downtown district Visit Aiken describes as walkable and lined with boutiques, cafes and shops.

Newman said she and a customer realized Aiken did not have a bakery, a detail that helped push the idea from market sales into a full cafe. The city’s branding leans heavily on its equestrian identity, and Thorough Bread’s name fits that tone with its nod to horse-town Aiken and the tagline “Elegantly Unrefined.”

The menu was set to center on sourdough breads and pastries, along with sandwiches, soup, salad and quiche. Newman also planned breakfast sandwiches and more distinctive offerings such as fig, brie and arugula on a baguette and a ham-and-butter sandwich. She said the bakery would use all-natural, unbromated, unrefined flour and local ingredients, while aiming for a soft, welcoming, homey look.

The timing also matched a downtown that is still changing around it. Aiken’s estimated population was 32,694 in 2024, and Visit Aiken’s 2025 fact sheet pointed to culinary expansion and revitalized downtown growth. Newman’s sourdough process takes about 36 hours, and that long cycle now stands at the center of a business built on patience, precision and a starter that kept asking for more room than a home kitchen could give.