New businesses, jobs arrive in downtown Bainbridge

Toole's Cakes and Deli is a new business at 305 Water Street in downtown Bainbridge.
Toole’s Cakes and Deli is a new business at 305 Water Street in downtown Bainbridge.

Nineteen new businesses have opened up in downtown Bainbridge over the past 12 months, creating an estimated 60 jobs, according to Amanda Glover, executive director of the Bainbridge Downtown Development Authority. (Only two businesses closed during that time, for a net gain of 56 jobs.)

The activity is evident to anyone who takes a few minutes to walk through downtown Bainbridge; Willis Park, full of colorful landscaping, has always been a highlight of the city’s Central Business District, but now the business activity has spread to other streets blocks away from the historic downtown square.

Some of the new businesses opening in recent weeks include Toole’s Cakes and Deli, owned by Greg and Karen Toole, and MaidenSouth, a shop featuring high-quality handmade items.

Toole’s Cakes and Deli is located on Water Street next to Isabee’s, a children’s and adult gift store that has drawn folks downtown for several years now.

Toole’s Cakes and Deli is open Monday through Friday and offers deli lunches, cupcakes and cookies; they also sell made-to-order birthday cakes and can host birthday parties at the bakery.

If you want to go take a look at the bakery, a great time would be on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 10 a.m., when the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the bakery’s grand opening.

The inside of MaidenSouth, a new shop in downtown Bainbridge that highlights uniq,e, high-quality handmade items. (Photo by Mallie Rollins)
The inside of MaidenSouth, a new shop in downtown Bainbridge that highlights uniq,e, high-quality handmade items. (Photo by Mallie Rollins)

MaidenSouth is a joint venture of Natalie Kirbo and Jessica Grace Allen, two young Southern ladies with an eye for unique items that were made by hand by “skilled artisans, craftsmen, builders, makers and doers,” as their website, maidensouth.com, states.

Maidensouth is located at 123 N. West Street, on a block that also features Artsy on the Square, which sells original paintings, prints and artists’ supplies, and Studio 115, which houses the studios of photographer Jessica Cannon and Rich Graphics, a graphic design firm.

Maidensouth is open Thursdays-Saturdays and the owners invite you to join them on Saturday mornings for the Bainbridge Farmer’s Market, which is held on West Street next to the square on fall and spring Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon.

See a photo gallery of interesting and new sights in downtown Bainbridge right now:

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