Farewell, Darlin': Owner closing Augusta bakery in the big pink house. Find out why.

The desserts in the big pink house are going away, but the owner is urging her longtime customers to stay sweet.

Dolce Darlin’, the bakery and catering operation that Cat Musgrove began in 2013 to help her overcome a family tragedy, will serve its last weekly menu May 9-11. After that, until June 1, the bakery will wrap up its final private orders and cookie box shipments.

Flanked by her two children and holding back tears, Musgrove posted an online video April 28 announcing Dolce’s closure. She ran the business out of 404 Telfair St. since 2020, after buying the former La Maison on Telfair restaurant from Zelda Sowinski, widow of the restaurant’s chef and owner, Heinz Sowinski.

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A convergence of circumstances prompted the difficult decision to close Dolce.

Musgrove is battling an illness that she didn’t specify, although occasional coughing fits interrupted her talk during the 43-minute video. Also, her two children, in their 20s, are preparing to write new chapters of their lives and will be leaving the nest.

Add in the typical stressors or running a business in the face of rising costs, and the reluctant decision became clear.

Musgrove has said that Dolce wasn’t chiefly a moneymaking venture, but an opportunity to give back to the community by helping people facing problems, whether it’s assisting food banks and women’s shelters or just offering a free meal to customers going through a rough patch.

Musgrove told her customers that her business’ successes came “because y’all walked in the door, and you kept the lights on and kept the business going, and you told your friends, and you gave us opportunities to help others.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Farewell, Darlin': Owner closing Augusta bakery in the big pink house. Find out why.