We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Tavares and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had noticed there were not many options in our area for bakery items that contained no soy and no extra ingredients that were not really needed along with organic options. The pickings were slim. After doing some research I decided to take a leap of faith and start our micro bakery. We wanted to be able to offer our community good, wholesome food options for them and their families. My motto from the start has been “if I won’t feed it to my family, I won’t feed it to yours!” and I’ve strived to stick to my guns on organic food options!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a small, micro bakery located in Summerville. I operate under cottage law but am actively working towards a brick and mortar location and hope to be there soon. I make organic sourdough bread and sourdough based baked goods! Our best selling item aside from our bread is our sourdough chocolate chip cookies. We learned after my daughter was born that she had a soy allergy. After we found that out we also quickly learned that soy is in almost everything, including chocolate chips! We were shocked! So we have worked really hard to find limited ingredient items to add to our bread and baked goods. While I wish every item we added was organic the few items we can’t find in an organic option we do our best to ensure they are top quality.

I think what sets us apart is we pour our heart and soul into everything we do. If we aren’t happy with how something turned out we won’t throw it on the menu and hope it works out. We want everyone to walk away with their items and know it was made with lots of love and care. We do our best to make a connection with everyone we come in contact with. I would say we have met a lot of people during our start and some have even become really good friends! We love what we do and think it translates across through our bread!

We worked really, REALLY hard to get out. name out there. It started as just me making bread and gifting it to friends, then our friends would pay for ingredients and it just kept growing. I quickly learned there was more to bread than what I was doing and took a class and did LOTS of research on the art of bread making. We also started selling at farmers markets and slowly but surely our name was getting out into the community. It was not an easy road and we have learned and will continue to learn lessons along the way as starting a business is never easy but we are determined to make it. Right now I think our biggest challenge is changing the way people think about bread. Bread isn’t the bad guy in our diets. Real bread is such a great option and when made properly you are able to digest it easier. Obviously this doesn’t apply to everyone, especially gluten free due to Celiac disease but if you just are gluten free because you think gluten is bad….give some real bread a try! You’d be surprised at how well your body tolerates it!

As far as what I would want the world to know? I think it would be if you love something don’t give up on it. Take a class, do your own research, ask for help and keep your head up. We only learned about sourdough because of my daughter’s allergy. We named our business after her, Laila (lie-lah) inspired her mama to figure it out and what a beautiful journey it has been!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh man, we have only been part of SC since 2021. We moved here from. up north so we are still learning all the awesome spots to hit up BUT we would obviously bring them to downtown Charleston. Rainbow row, pineapple fountain and walking around the shops in the downtown area is always so fun…just not during the hot summer months!haha. We also would have to make sure to hit up Kiawah Island and relax out on the beach. I also would for sure walk downtown Summerville and the amazing little shops and coffee shops they have. The best coffee and baked goods hands down would go to Costal Coffee Roasters, their iced mocha is my favorite! If we were looking for a sit-down breakfast I would 100% head over to First Watch I love their million dollar bacon and lemon curd pancakes! Lunch would be 5 Loaves and for dinner if staying in Summerville The Icehouse especially if you have little humans joining you for dinner! They have an outdoor playground and bar that makes the long wait worth it. If no little humans are joining you I would say head to downtown Charleston and make a reservation at Church and Union! There is so much to do and see here I think I would need longer than a week to show them everything!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First shoutout will always go to God, I firmly believe He directed my path down the sourdough road. My family and friends. More specifically my husband, my daughter, my parents and my siblings. They pushed me to keep moving forward even when I wanted to give up. My amazing CUSTOMERS! You keep me going! I also wouldn’t be able to do what I do without my weekly chiropractic adjustments at Restore Health by Dr. Adam. After hand rolling out I think I counted 500 bread rolls my hands were killing not only did he adjust them but he adjusted my back and keeps me moving! Yellow Dog Farm in Dorchester who always provide me with amazing items for my baked goods. They have the absolute best quality items! Also, Dorchester County was so helpful with helping me get my business started!

Website: We use hotplate for ordering and all orders and menus are posted weekly!

Instagram: Lailas Low Country Sourdough

Facebook: Laila’s Low Country Sourdough

Other: email: lailaslowcountrysourdough@gmail.com

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSouthCarolina is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.