Express Cafe and Bakery has been a Savannah staple for decades, but longtime regulars turned owners, Beth and Michael Meeks, are shaking things up a bit. The couple recently changed the name (although not the soul food) and decided to cook up a whole new business plan.

Before Beth and Michael Meeks shared a last name, they spent many a date in the dining room of the Express Café and Bakery, a quaint breakfast/lunch/brunch restaurant tucked to the side of Broughton on Barnard. “This restaurant has been here for 24 years and was a really special place for us.” Michael says. “Everyone has a Café Express story.” The Meeks’ story however is a little different from most.

Both native Savannahians, Beth and Michael left the Hostess City to pursue Michael’s career in corporate radio- a gig that had the two of them moving every two years as they traveled the country flipping radio stations. But, as Beth tells it, they never lost their love for Savannah. “We came back on vacation for five days and wondered why we ever left.” So when they heard that the Express Café and Bakery was for sale, after changing owners several times, the Meeks jumped at the chance to “be managers of our own destiny,” as Beth eloquently puts it.