Bread Shed has grand opening on Main Street

On Saturday, March 7, The Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for The Bread Shed, located at 21 Main Street in West Sayville.

The Bread Shed is home to startup company South Shore Sourdough, which started as a home bakery by Meggin Hall, of Oakdale.

Hours are limited to Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until the bread runs out, which for the past two weeks has been around 1 p.m.

The grand opening was celebrated by many staple and new customers, all of whom were eager to sample the homemade bread.

Currently, the bread options include  the classic (round or sandwich), cinnamon raisin (round or sandwich), garlic bread, rosemary, cheddar jalapeno, and featured flavors for cookies and muffins. For the grand opening, banana streusel muffins were available.

“Our grand opening was nothing short of spectacular! We are grateful that we had such a wonderful turnout. We look forward to being a weekly staple for the surrounding communities and beyond!” said Hall.

“We are so happy to have this strip of stores here in West Sayville on Main Street! We have dubbed this strip of stores officially ‘Artisan Way.’  Where else can you buy a variety of fresh sourdough breads from the Bread Shed, pick up some cheese and some dipping olive oils at Sayville Cheese, some flowers at West Sayville Flowers, and even a gift at Eastbound Trading Co.? The Greater Sayville Chamber is excited to welcome and support new businesses in the Greater Sayville area in West Sayville, Oakdale, and the Bohemia areas,” said chamber president emerita Eileen Tyznar.

“Congratulations and welcome to the Town of Islip. We wish you much success and prosperity. And, thank you for promoting healthy food alternatives in the products you produce in our community,” said Town of Islip councilman Jim O’Connor (R-2nd district).

Sourdough, the bread popularized on TikTok that gives the impression of being alive with its bubbling and growth, comes from a starter with flour and water.

In the beginning of November 2024, Hall began selling her sourdough creations. Inspired by health experts studying “blue zones” (i.e., places around the world where people live to be a 100), Hall began to cook with sourdough because of its popularity in areas like Greece.

“My grandmother lived into her 90s and that’s my goal—I want to live into my 90s. I started looking at what they eat and I saw in Sardinia, they were eating sourdough bread,” said Hall.

Hall reported that it took some time to master sourdough baking and said, “It’s so precise; it’s a science to it.”