Written by Amy Stoltenberg
Photographs by Wesley Spear III
Located at 102 E. Liberty St. in Drayton Tower, B.T. Byrd’s is an all in one bakery, restaurant, coffee shop and bar. Named after Ben “Cookie” Byrd, the second generation owner who took over the family business in the 1950s, B.T.’s is a quirky hybrid sort of restaurant that reflects who Cookie Byrd was.
Katie Wells, the Director of Consumer Experience for Byrd Cookie Company, said B.T.’s was “designed with students and business people in mind. We are totally cool if you come in, plug in your laptop, and just camp out.”
The space itself is an intimate, compact area with an eclectic feel and only a handful of tables next to the wall. Stephanie Lindley, CEO of the company, designed and decorated the space. It was previously her own bikini-only boutique called Bungalow.
All of the baking is done in a miniature oven that is only a bit larger than a toaster oven, and the cooking is done over just two burners. Wells explained the restaurant has a “real brick and mortar feel. It’s as close to a food truck as possible without being on wheels.”
The menu at B.T.’s spawned out of the original classic oatmeal cookie Cookie brought to the scene back in the 1950s. However, they come with a twist: in warm, toasty sandwich form. The menu offers variations of different types of sandwiches you can order, all with creatively scrumptious names. Whether you are in the mood for “The Classic PB&J” filled with creamy peanut butter and raspberry lime jelly that’s brought in from a family kitchen in Massachusetts, or if “The Zen” is more your thing–half Nutella, half marshmallow fluff–there is no doubt there is something to satisfy every sweet tooth.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Savannah resident Jim Westwood. “It’s like a combination of all the best tastes in the world, melted together.”
For those who do not consider a hot oatmeal cookie sandwich to be a true meal, the menu contains savory items as well. From giant all-beef hot dogs covered in pimento cheese, truffle mustard, bacon and saffron slaw, to the Big Mac Breakfast Bagel, the food is fancy yet familiar.
Said Wells, “B.T.’s is meant to be an easy place to stop for lunch. Everything is delivered to the table and it’s really great and you love it, but it’s also cleverly presented in a way that you might not have seen before.”
Also at B.T. Byrd’s is a full bakery filled with cakes and various pastries, from sweet eclairs to massive savory scones. The goodies are baked fresh every morning in limited quantities. After 4 p.m. all bakery products are only $1.
“B.T. Byrd’s is meant to be a cool, fun, hangout place that we all frequent, that we wanna bring friends to and that we know our friends would want to go to,” said Wells.
