Ask just about anyone where to grab a great bite for breakfast in Savannah and you’ll hear again and again, “Best breakfast is at Goose Feathers Café.”
This European-style bakery on Barnard Street, just one block away from the famous City Market, has been serving the Historic District of Savannah warm handmade croissants, fresh pastries, hot bread pudding and delicious sandwiches since 1986.
“It all starts with fresh,” said Michael Meeks, who runs the business with his wife, Beth. “Almost everything we do in this café, we do ourselves.”
That includes cutting up fresh vegetables and fruits and cooking four to six pans of bread pudding a day, as well as making 2,000 croissants by hand every week. It’s how Goose Feathers Café gained such a remarkable following from locals and distinguished reputation among visitors.
But it’s not just their fresh food that sets them apart from other bistros and cafes in town; it’s their attentiveness, care and speedy service that keeps customers coming back, despite the line stretching through the café and out the doors. Because inside this cozy café off Ellis Square, guests feel like they’ve been transported to a different time and place.
“It feels as though they are sitting in a café in Paris or a café in Germany,” said Meeks.
Plus, in most restaurants, it’s not the owner who takes your order. But here, where breakfast is served all day and whoopee pies are a staple, one of the owners does.
Beth Meeks greets customers with a smile at the front counter, asking what they’d like to eat. Guests can choose from a variety of sweet and savory bakery items, including apple, blueberry cream, chocolate, spinach and feta or ham and Swiss croissants, sticky and cinnamon buns or muffins, in addition to their menu boasting an assortment of breakfast specials and sandwiches.
“Usually our sticky and cinnamon buns go the quickest, then our sweet and savory pastries after that,” said Meeks.
Other popular breakfast items include their Belgian waffles, bagels, yogurt and homemade granola, Eggs Benedict Savannah Style, and their vegetarian Eggetarian.
For lunch, Goose Feathers Café offers an assortment of signature sandwiches.
Try their Honey Ginger Chicken Sandwich, Italian Panini and Smoked Turkey Reuben, which is made with a fresh cabbage slaw tossed in a homemade Dill Dijon vinaigrette. Their chicken bacon mushroom melt is another pleaser. It features oven-roasted chicken, bacon, mushrooms, Havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo on a handmade croissant.
They even offer café sandwiches named after special spots and people of Savannah. They offer The Telfair, Barnard Street Club, Oglethorpe and Chippewa, as well as a variety of salads.
In addition to being a local favorite, Goose Feathers Café has also been voted one of the Top 10 Georgia Bakeries by Atlanta’s Scoutology. Urbanspoon called them one of the “101 Top Breakfast Restaurants”. Taste of the South named Goose Feathers Café’s bread pudding as the “South’s Best.”
“We’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to maintain success for such a long time,” said Meeks.
Goose Feathers Café also offers online ordering for pick-up and delivery and a complete catering service. The Café is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Downtown delivery is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Franchise opportunities are now available for this popular eatery throughout the Southeast. Please call Michael or Beth Meeks for more information about bringing Goose Feathers Café to your town.
Goose Feathers Café is located at 39 Barnard St. For more information, call (912) 233-4683 or visit goosefeatherscafe.com.
