Residents will have lots of places to buy treats

Bakers and restaurateurs are bringing variety to the Evans area soon.

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Several employees of the former Smoak's Bakery in Augusta have teamed to open A Piece of Cake in Ashley Square shopping center in Martinez. Owner Jean Posey, who worked for the Smoak family for more than 30 years, opened the bakery Feb. 15.

Among its many treats, A Piece of Cake bakes special-occasion cakes to order, pastries, cookies and eclairs. She said customers have already begun thanking her for bringing back Smoak's favorites such as pinafores and Easter egg cakes.

"They've been a tradition," Posey said of the egg cakes. "(Customers) got them for their children, and now they're getting them for their grandchildren."

Martinez resident Holly Myatt plans to open Kree Brulee, a bakery at Blue Ridge Drive and Evans to Locks Road in Evans, on Monday. Myatt said she missed having a convenient, full-service bakery such as one she regularly shopped at in her native Texas and decided to open her own.

"We want it to be an upscale bakery, but an old-fashioned bakery," she said.

Myatt has hired two full-time chefs to bake a full line of pastries and breads, custom cakes for special occasions, cheesecakes and crme brulee.

The bakery has a drive-through window and will offer delivery for some special occasions.

Chef Jeff Freehof, the owner of Cutie Pies Gourmet Cafe in Evans, will open The Garlic Clove Italian Eatery in the former Peppermill Restaurant building near Wal-Mart in Evans. Freehof said the restaurant is set to open for dinner April 9, and will offer lunch and dinner daily thereafter.

"There's a huge void in Evans (for an Italian restaurant)," he said.

The Garlic Clove will offer a festive and cozy ambience suitable for romantic dinners or a family night out.

The menu features traditional and contemporary takes on classic Italian dishes, with entrees priced from about $5 to $7 for lunch and $8 to $25 for dinner.

This month, Goolsby's of Evans opened in Liberty Square shopping center in Evans.

Coming in March, Salad Creations, a restaurant offering salads, wraps and smoothies, is scheduled to open in Evans Town Park.

Morris News Service writer Laura Youngs contributed to this article.