What once started as a quaint beverage cart for fueling pilates students has now evolved into East Hill’s newest cafe and brunch spot— Good Day, Darling (GDD).
Though the cafe is new to the East Hill neighborhood, GDD’s roots run deep in the community. The cafe is spearheaded by local entrepreneurs, Bill and Kiley Manning. The couple have spent the past decade establishing some of Pensacola’s beloved community spaces like The Magnolia and Wild Lemon Pilates.
“Bill and I were in our late 20s when we opened our first little neighborhood bar, The Magnolia. We had a ton of fun and learned a lot in the 11 years we were open. Over the course of that time, we opened our two pilates studios (Wild Lemon Pilates) in East Hill, flipped some houses and Bill became a Real Estate Agent at Kuhn Realty,” Kiley explained.
In November 2022, the couple permanently closed The Magnolia to take a break from the restaurant industry to focus on their other businesses and spend time traveling.
Never considering the possibility of getting back into the food and beverage business, the Mannings and their team decided to set up a small beverage cart in front of one of their pilates studio locations to provide pilates students with a quick and healthy drink or snack before and after classes. The team named the small beverage cart “Good Day, Darling,” which made its official debut this past August with the help of cart manager Sara Didlake.
The beverage cart became a huge hit, and it wasn’t long until it had reached its maximum serving capacity. The Manning’s soon realized that their intended break from the food and beverage industry might be ending a little sooner than anticipated. The couple’s small food and beverage cart had quickly grown into a bustling side businesses.
“Two weeks after opening our coffee cart, my friend, Danielle Mullet, shared with me that she was planning to close her business, The Daily Squeeze. I refused to accept that information because I loved The Daily Squeeze and frequented the shop for cold-pressed juice,” Kiley said. “Together, we made a plan to expand the coffee cart into The Daily Squeeze location and take over juicing operations. We suspended operations at the coffee cart to build out the cafe.”
Kiley and her team plan to continue The Daily Squeeze’s cold-pressed juice program and the bottle reuse program, purchasing all of the glass bottles in backstock from The Daily Squeeze. Just five weeks after the team took over operations at The Daily Squeeze, GDD’s first brick-and-mortar cafe celebrated its official opening. The new neighborhood cafe is located in The Daily Squeeze’s former location at 901 N. 12th Ave. in East Hill.
Since opening on November 13, the cafe has been serving up an assortment of delicious bites and specialty crafted beverages. GDD focuses on using only high-quality and fresh ingredients, with menu options ranging from espresso-based drinks, juices and smoothies to sandwiches, salads, pastries and more. Various food and beverage options are made fresh-to order, with some fresh menu items and drinks already prepared for grab-and-go meals from the “Good To Go” cooler. Fans of The Magnolia will be happy to know that the cooler will also be stocked with Magnolia favorites like rosemary pecan chicken salad, spicy turkey salad and several house-made soups.
GDD is dedicated to supporting other local businesses and members of the culinary community. “We source local produce as much as possible and donate our juice pulp to From the Ground Up Community Garden. We would love to expand offerings as we build the business over the next several months,” Kiley explained.
The cafe supports local when it comes to its coffee, too. The coffee beverages served at GDD are made using ingredients from small local businesses. Their drip coffee and cold brew comes from Pensacola-based Alla Prima Roasters, and their espresso beans come from Nova Espresso in Mobile, Alabama.
“It takes a whole lot of people who care a whole lot about what they do to create and cultivate a small business. We are forever grateful to our incredible team for pouring so much love and talent into this project, and to Danielle for the opportunity to build on the legacy she and her team created with The Daily Squeeze. We want this place to feel like it was always here and for the neighborhood to create memories with loved ones over a sip and a snack at Good Day, Darling for years to come,” Kiley said.
GDD is currently open Wednesday through Saturday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. To check out the full menu or place an online order, visit gooddaydarling.co.
For updates, daily specials and more, follow @gooddaydarlingcafe on Instagram.