Every once in a while, we meet someone in our community who reminds us how much good one person can do with a great idea and a hot oven. On this edition of Talk of the Town Carolinas, host Patty Mercer sat down with Megan Cairns, a local student and the owner of Sunshine and Sugar Company, a weekend cookie cart you can find right here in Tega Cay.
A Cookie Cart on the Street
Megan’s business is exactly what it sounds like, and we love it. She bakes every week, fills a cookie cart at the end of her street, and lets her neighbors do the rest. Along with the cookies, she also bakes sourdough, so there is a little bit of everything on the cart.
Baking came first, and the business followed. Megan has been in the kitchen with her mom since she was a little kid, and she still turns to baking when life gets stressful.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I baked with my mom in the kitchen. And even now, if anything stresses me out, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go bake some cookies.'”
— Megan, Sunshine and Sugar Company
Every Cookie Has to Pass Quality Control
When Patty asked what gives her cookies that extra Megan touch, the answer came fast. Every cookie gets tasted, and anything that looks a little off never makes it onto the cart.
“If a cookie looks weird, I don’t sell it. They have to be perfect.”
— Megan
Years of testing have led her to recipes she loves, and she is not afraid to tweak them when something goes wrong. Recently, that meant solving a parchment paper problem. The right paper turned out to make a real difference, and the cookies are baking better than ever.
Where the Name Came From
Megan wanted a name that left room to grow. She liked the idea of ending with “Co,” short for company, so if she ever wanted to branch out, the name could grow with her. She also did not want it to be only about cookies, since she bakes breads and other treats too. After playing around with a few ideas, and getting a little help from ChatGPT, Sunshine and Sugar Company was the one.
Patty summed it up well: she is thinking like an entrepreneur.
Baking for a Cause
We filmed this interview outside Maisie’s Green Brae, a local restaurant here in Tega Cay, where Megan was sponsoring a Choose Kind Foundation event. The foundation is close to her heart. Megan’s family has been close friends with the Dickey family for years, and Ashton, the young woman who passed away, was like a big sister to her. The Choose Kind Foundation grew out of that loss, and the Dickey family organizes a 5K in her honor.
“We were like, we want to sponsor you because we love y’all and we love your family and this is just an amazing cause. So, anything to do a little extra joy for people.”
— Megan
Megan would love to keep supporting Choose Kind, but she is open to more. She has already taken the cookie cart to nursing homes and offered it at middle school PTO meetings. She has an order coming up for wedding welcome bags, and next year she will be putting together a cookie bar for her cousin’s wedding.
The Best Sellers
Of course, we had to ask about the cookies. Megan’s current favorites are the chocolate mint Oreo and the oatmeal raisin. The mint Oreo came from her own recipe hunt, because she loves mint Oreos and wanted a cookie that tasted like one. Patty had never even heard of it, and we have a feeling we are going to be hearing a lot more about it.
Her top four sellers right now are the classic chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin (a very versatile cookie, she says), a Butterfinger caramel crunch, and that chocolate mint Oreo.
How to Find the Cookie Cart
The cookie cart is out every weekend on Kailua Circle here in Tega Cay, from about 10 in the morning until 6, or until it gets dark, or until the cookies are gone. It is completely self-serve. Bags are supplied on the side of the cart, you pick out the cookies you want, and you pay by dropping cash in the cart or using Venmo or another option listed there.
To see what is on the cart each week, follow Sunshine and Sugar Co on Facebook and Instagram. Megan posts when the cart will be out and which cookies will be in it, and you can message her there to place an order. She also has a link to a full menu of her cookies and breads. A TikTok is in the works, so keep an eye out.
Megan is in school, running a business, and baking all of it herself. When Patty asked about the future, she smiled and said we will have to wait and see. We are betting on the “Co.”
Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel or visit CarolinaHomeSearch.com for past episodes of Talk of the Town Carolinas and a look at what it is like to live here.
If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in the Carolinas, keep it simple: call Carmen Miller or visit CarolinaHomeSearch.com.
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