Buttercream Dream

SAVANNAH “NONNIE” McCULLUM, owner of Nonnie’s Bakery in Southport, is a lot like her dad – a dreamer, adventurist, and artist. 

“My dad was constantly looking to do something new, go on an adventure or create a new business,” says McCullum, adding that his artistic endeavors included screenplays, charcoal drawings, life-sized sculptures, and much more. “Because of his wheelhouse, he encouraged me to explore my artistic ability. Mine happened to flourish in cake.” 

McCullum opened Nonnie’s, a name that her nieces and nephews gave her, in May 2023. The space had been empty and devoid of drywall. Insulation peeked out of the studs. 

“I loved that I had more influence in the storefront design. I was able to create my space from my vision,” she says.

The large floral wall in the storefront is labeled “la Vie en Rose” after the song that both McCullum and her father loved. He passed from COVID in 2021 before he could see the finished shop. “The wall is dedicated to him and his endless love and encouragement,” she says. 

McCullum didn’t always have her sights set on cake and icing. She received her bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and then worked for State Employees’ Credit Union as a senior financial services representative. She knew it wasn’t the career for her. During her sophomore year in college, McCullum had her first taste of the bakery industry working at an Italian bakery in High Point. 

“I vividly remember my interview. My boss told me, ‘You know, everyone thinks working in a bakery is cutesy and easy, all cupcakes and sunshine. It’s not so different from any other restaurant or the rest of the food industry.’ That was most honest,” recalls McCullum, admitting to plenty of cake decorating failures along the way.

Her second bakery job was in Salisbury at a higher-end shop where she learned how to decorate cakes with Italian buttercream instead of covering cakes in fondant.

“I learned how to bake and decorate as well as how to manage a smaller business – the day-to-day ordering of supplies, paying vendors, and time management,” she says. “My goal was to learn what I liked and didn’t like and use that in my own bakery.”

McCullum treats her cakes as works of art. Her round signature cakes are available in two sizes and ten popular flavors, have four layers of cake and three layers of her own Italian Meringue Buttercream. Her custom cakes are available in additional sizes, many more flavors and custom decorations from simple to elaborate. The storefront also offers a variety of cupcakes, cookies, rice crispy treats, mini cakes, cake jars, and other goodies.

While there are other bakeries in town, McCullum feels that each one brings something different to Southport, a town she says “just fit” when looking for her perfect location. “Southport was so charming and small town,” she says. “I loved that Southport was coastal, but not beachy. I could get the best of everything without having a boardwalk bakery.”  

“It’s quality over quantity,” she further explains. “Everything is made in-house from scratch, often in small batches to ensure freshness, and all cakes are covered with buttercream instead of fondant. Her team, which started with her stepmom who drove her daily from Whiteville for several months, is now two-persons strong. “I have been incredibly blessed,” she says.

McCullum is living her dream in her sweets boutique. “And to think that I can play a small part in someone else’s dream,” she says, “even just through a cake, is absolutely wonderful.”

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