This is not the last time you will read a story on this topic. It is certainly not the first time you’ve seen anything written about it. It is, however, the beginning of a new chapter. The history of the Gottlieb family and the popularity of the things they’ve offered this city to Eat and Like is well documented. Throw it a Google. There you will find plenty of reading material. There might just be enough reading, perhaps, to last you until the return of the Gottlieb’s Bakery on Taylor and Habersham Streets in Downtown Savannah. As of today, that return is penciled in for February.
I met Michael Gottlieb back in May at a fundraiser we were both participating in at the Tybee Wedding Chapel. I knew a bit about his family’s history. I knew he had returned to Savannah from New Orleans as part of the Broughton Street revitalization and after that night, I knew the guy could cook. Yes, yes he can. We swapped numbers and I asked him to call me when he had a story to tell. I recently got the call and I can tell you that it would appear to me that Savannah is in for a treat. Gottlieb’s Version 3.0.
I caught up with Michael and his brother, Laurence, at their new BBQ spot in Bloomingdale. Yes, BBQ. “This just kind of happened”, he says. The gentleman who operated Mac’s Place BBQ out there was looking to slow down a bit. Many of you may know the spot, on the same grounds of Randy Wood’s Pickin’ Parlor. Mac’s was shutting down, the opportunity was there for the brothers to get back in the restaurant game. “Yeah, I was bored”, Michael tells me. More on the BBQ joint in a bit.
For a good bit of time, Michael searched downtown for the perfect spot to set up shop. As is many times the case with real estate, the more you get to know a space, the less of a perfect fit it becomes. Finding the right spot could take some time. The brothers have been nothing if not patient. I gather some spots were more realistic than others because I heard a number of rumors on the street. But nothing is official until you have a signature, right? Sometimes, even then. The search, however, has resulted in a space they are very excited about and downtown Savannah is about to get another neighborhood bakery.
Those of you familiar with downtown know the spot as the former home to American Red Cross on the corner of Habersham and Taylor Streets. You know, one of those buildings downtown that you drive or walk by and ask, “Now how exactly did THAT get built in America’s largest Historic District?” But I digress. “We are going in on the first floor”, Michael says. “We’ll have a Kosher Bakery and some other items there. We will even have access to the courtyard for lunch.” Until then, you can count on these guys being plenty busy because they’ve hit the ground running.
“Wood’s Kitchen” is the Gottlieb’s BBQ spot on highway 80 in Bloomingdale. They changed the name to tie in a little better with the guitar manufacturer that also sits on the property. “I was really excited about this because I’m fascinated by the story back there”, Michael tells me. He also admits he has a guitar collecting problem. “I have about 12 or 13”, he says. “Not too many people realize this spot is legendary for Bluegrass guitar players. On any given Friday or Saturday afternoon, you can find players from around the country or around the world just sitting here in the parlor jamming all day long. We had someone drive all the way down from Montreal to do nothing but jam here. Then he went home.”
While the jamming is going on the in the back, Michael and Laurence are re-launching what is going on in the restaurant in a completely revamped kitchen. On one side, Michael is turning out pulled pork, ribs and brisket. You will also find Shrimp and Grits, an excellent Crab Cake on a Fried Green Tomato with a Cajun Remoulade, as well as burgers and a Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich. “I’ve had people come in here, tell me they love it and ask how long I’ve been doing BBQ”, Michael tells me. “I have to admit, about a week.”
On the other side of the kitchen Laurence is baking up an absolute storm. He is already providing bread for a couple of spots downtown including the brand new French Brasserie 39 Rue de Jean in the Embassy Suites Hotel. It’s all pretty straight forward right now they tell me. Baguettes, some burger buns and simple rolls. Things like that. But they have much bigger plans for variety once that space opens downtown.
Classic Gottlieb’s desserts are also part of the fun out in Bloomingdale right now. Including their (I’m told) legendary chocolate chewies. I can’t speak for them because I frankly have never tried one, but I know all about them. “We put a sign up out on the highway that said ‘Gottlieb’s Chocolate Chewies”, Michael says. “We’ve had several people come running in here asking what we knew about Gottliebs and the chewies”, he says. “We tell them, ‘Well, we are the Gottliebs.’” Clearly no one expected them to pop up after all these years in Bloomingdale.
Michael tells me the family would like to do more than just a bakery downtown. As is always the case, timing and opportunity need to line up well before anything like that. He cites their successful “Gottlieb’s Restaurant and Dessert Bar” on Broughton Street a number of years ago as proof that he could make it work downtown. At the time, he says he was in a different place. “Food side was great, the business side was lacking.” That said, he shares there were a number of reasons why that space shut down. Some his own doing, some not. My opinion here, it may take a little bit of time, but I think we will see something like that again. “I’m excited about the growth of the food scene in Savannah”, Michael says. “I hope to do my part to help it continue to rise.”
Funny thing about this story is, I will be the first to admit, not having lived in Savannah all of my life, I didn’t know all of the history of the Gottlieb Bakery on the corner of York and Jefferson Streets downtown. I only heard mention of the name and their place in this cities history. Much like Leopold’s Ice Cream, the Gottlieb family and their bakery was a Savannah icon. The mere mention of the name gets the old timers excited. The night we were at the fundraiser out on Tybee, when Michael spoke briefly about his plans at the time for Savannah, he had the crowd’s full attention. That didn’t go unnoticed. This city clearly responds to the family name. Michael and Laurence plan to deliver.
The guys will be plenty busy between now and that anticipated opening in February. If you have the time, the food at Wood’s Kitchen is absolutely worth the drive. Find out much more about that menu and the plans the have going forward right now at www.gottliebsfood.com.
See you on TV.
Jesse
