Nashvillest

Remember Michelle Branch? She exploded in 2001 and had singles flying up the radio charts for a couple years, then seemingly dropped off the planet for awhile before resurfacing as part of the short-lived country act The Wreckers. We’ve only heard bits and pieces about her since then - but she did make the move to Nashville in January with her family. And here’s where it gets good. She’s opening a bakery/bar in town.

Hey everyone-
I have really exciting news that I’ve been dying to share with you for a while but I didn’t want to jinx it.

Besides music, one of my dreams has always been to open a bakery. When I was a little girl I would sneak into the kitchen and sift out a few cups of flour and mix it with water just to play with the dough. Baking, like music, is a creative release for me and can also be very therapeutic. You can always tell when I am stressed out because suddenly my house gets filled with cookies, cupcakes, and pie. It takes my mind off of whatever is wrong in the world. If you follow the recipe, you can’t fail (well, sometimes you can, if you have a finicky oven like me) and the smile on people’s faces when you hand them a slice of fresh warm fruit pie with vanilla ice cream or let a child help roll out cookie dough is priceless.
This dream is finally coming true and at the moment I am working not only on the new record but also opening The Sugar Bar with my new found friend and marvelous pastry chef Rebekka Seale. It will be an old-fashioned bakeshop and bar where you can go grab a drink after dinner and a slice of Bourbon Chocolate Cake or Summer Berry Pie. We will also be using as many local, organic and natural ingredients as possible. Also exciting is the fact that Rebekka will be blogging throughout the entire process at http://blog.thesugarbar.com so you will all be able to watch us get this place up and running. I can’t wait for you to take a part in this process with us but more importantly I can wait for you to all stop by and grab a slice of the sweet life next time you’re in Nashville.

XOXO,
M

[From the Michelle Branch Message Boards]

We think everything about this sounds awesome, from the idea of a bakery that’s also a bar to the emphasis on using local ingredients. We’re honored to have Michelle living among us and bringing The Sugar Bar to town, and we’re looking forward to being there on opening day.