Atlanta’s cookie king is going full-on Willy Wonka. Shane Quillin, the baker behind Sugar Shane’s, is rolling out a hands-on baking studio and bakery near The Battery and Truist Park this fall, blending flour, sugar and social time into one new concept called The Baking Social. Think date nights, team outings and weekend hobbyists, with the focus squarely on fun and accessibility rather than stiff culinary-school vibes.
What The Baking Social Will Offer
The Baking Social’s website lays out 12 signature classes, covering everything from sourdough and baguettes to cupcake decorating and a chocolate-chip cookie workshop, all taught by experienced instructors. According to The Baking Social, the studio is set to open in Fall 2026 at The Battery Atlanta, combining scheduled workshops with a grab-and-go bakery counter and a coffee program. The brand pitches itself as part social club, part kitchen, where guests are encouraged to learn, snack and hang out instead of rushing back to the parking deck.
Quillin told What Now Atlanta that he spent the past year traveling the country to study baking-class formats and menus, and that he “saw the need and the want to bake.” What Now reports that the first location is planned for a roughly 3,600-square-foot street-level space at 2801 Windy Ridge Pkwy SE, Suite 100, with about 1,000 square feet carved out for the bakery itself. The outlet notes the studio is expected to run Wednesday through Sunday once the doors open.
Backed by a Venture Studio
Founders Row, the Atlanta-based venture studio launched by Jamie Weeks, is backing the project, according to a Dec. 23 press release distributed via PR Newswire. The release states that the partnership gives Quillin operational support and capital planning as he builds a flagship studio meant to scale into multiple cities. Founders Row frames The Baking Social as one of several experiential consumer concepts it plans to incubate, betting that people will keep showing up for activities where you leave with both memories and snacks.
From Cookies to Classrooms
Quillin launched Sugar Shane’s out of his home kitchen in 2020 and has since expanded into brick-and-mortar retail, including a Ponce City Market stall that opened in March 2023, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That steady local growth, along with a rotating lineup of themed items, helped build the following Quillin now hopes to channel into hands-on classes. Founders Row’s materials also highlight Sugar Shane’s weekly-changing menu and constant product experimentation as key strengths that translate neatly into a classroom setting.
Founders Row’s December announcement initially pointed to an early-2026 debut, per PR Newswire, but The Baking Social website now lists a Fall 2026 opening at The Battery. For now, the brand is collecting signups for a “Friends & Family” pre-opening list and is expected to move to public ticketing once construction and permitting are wrapped up. No firm public opening date has been announced.
“The goal is to first make a splash in Atlanta,” Quillin told What Now Atlanta. For Atlantans who want to learn their way around a dough hook, or groups hunting for a different kind of night out, The Baking Social is shaping up as a studio-and-sit experience to watch as it bakes into place near Truist Park this fall.
