After more than five years as a pop-up, pastry business Galette has opened a brick-and-mortar location in Avondale Estates.
Located at 110 N. Avondale Road in the Tudor Village development, Galette comes from Ashley Thomas and Morgan Perkins. The pair met when Thomas was serving as a resident chef at Sur La Table and hired Perkins as a kitchen assistant. They launched Galette in 2017 with in-home cooking classes and began popping up at farmers markets in 2019.
The brick-and-mortar offerings are nearly identical to the pop-up, with seasonal sweet and savory options including cookies, scones, croissants, cinnamon rolls and, naturally, galettes. The menu offers several varieties of the namesake pastry, made with seasonal produce. For instance, summer galettes might feature summer squash or peaches, while galettes offerings in the fall might be made with mushrooms and apples.
Credit: Courtesy of Galette
Credit: Courtesy of Galette
The new space will allow the pair to expand their offerings to include patisserie like entremet and pavlovas, as well as bread. Beverages include drip coffee, tea and cold brew. In the coming weeks, Galette will start offering limited lunch options including a sandwich, soup and salad.
“We’re following a European bakery set up in that we have what we have,” Thomas said. “The idea is not that there’s the same menu every day, which allows us to have some staples, but to rotate through some new things, which makes it more exciting for our customers. So the menu can change with the season and with the day.”
The pair source as much as possible locally and regionally, including fruit from Georgia Proud Provisions, ham from Spotted Trotter and flour from Lindley Mills in North Carolina.
Nestled in a cozy 1,200-square-foot space, Galette is a mostly grab-and-go concept, with a few small tables outside. Though Thomas and Perkins used contractors to renovate the interior, “it was very much a family affair,” Thomas said, with her father helping with wainscotting and building countertops, her husband working on tiling and Perkins’ husband doing other work in the space.
Credit: Courtesy of Galette
Credit: Courtesy of Galette
Guests will see a color palette of green and gold, and will get a glimpse of Thomas and Perkins at work in the open kitchen.
“We didn’t want to work in a pastry case,” Perkins said. “We really wanted an open kitchen to be part of the community. People like seeing what’s going on, and it allows us to be a part of what’s happening up front and communicate with everyone.”
Thomas has experience creating high-end desserts, with a focus on making creams, custards and fillings, while she calls Perkins a “dough master,” with a more rustic style.
“Our styles really balance each other, and we come up with something that meets in the middle” Thomas said.
Opening in the Avondale Estates location is a full circle moment for the duo. They planned to sign a lease for the same space in early 2020, but backed out when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When they started looking at brick-and-mortar locations again last year, the building was still available.
Credit: Courtesy of Gabriella Valladares
Credit: Courtesy of Gabriella Valladares
“It felt like kismet,” Perkins said. “The customers that we’ve gotten to know over the years at the Avondale farmers market were so excited that we were coming to their neighborhood.”
Once they settle into their new location, the pair plan to get back to their roots with a weekly presence at markets, and eventually offer cooking classes.
Galette’s opening hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.
110 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 470-231-7462, galetteatl.com
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