Some recipes start with butter and sugar. Others begin with a bagel shop in Pennsylvania, a pastry degree, a move to the Gulf Coast and just enough courage to keep creating.
For Kim, the General manager & Executive chef behind Buzzcatz Coffee & Sweets in Orange Beach, the recipe has been building since 1994, when she took her first restaurant job at a bagel shop while in college. She later graduated from Penn College with an A.A.S. in Baking & Pastry Arts, setting the foundation for a career centered on food, creativity and hospitality.
In 2007, Kim moved to the Gulf Coast with her husband, Bart, who is also a Chef and Butcher. By 2010, she had joined the Harsany restaurant group, spending six years between Cosmos and Cobalt before Buzzcatz opened in the Cosmos courtyard in 2016.
She has been Buzzcatz’s GM & Executive Chef from the beginning, developing recipes, building menus and helping shape the personality of a place that has become a favorite for locals and visitors alike.
Her work has reached far beyond the kitchen, too. Kim helped with Orange Beach’s Kids Culinary Camp for 10 years and recently taught a Foundations of Baking course at Coastal Alabama Community College. In 2017, she competed in the International Biscuit Festival baking competition and took home Grand Champion honors for her signature Alabama Scotch Egg.
Then came a very Buzzcatz kind of moment.
In 2018, a People magazine and Yelp collaboration named Buzzcatz the best breakfast in Alabama. That recognition led to the restaurant’s cinnamon rolls being shipped overnight to Rockefeller Plaza for a Today show segment with Al Roker.
Ten years later, those cinnamon rolls are still part of the story.
Buzzcatz recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, and a reflection on that Today show milestone sent the restaurant viral again on social media. The renewed attention helped break sales records and raised the bar for what comes next: new menu items, pastries, creative drinks and, Kim hopes, an expanded TikTok presence as the busy season slows.
Her favorite ingredient in all of it? Gratitude.
It is the kind of story that feels especially fitting for a place built around breakfast, pastries and making mornings a little brighter.
She credits the customers who return, becoming regulars and the hardworking team that she has.
“I am grateful I get to do what I love and get paid for it,” she says. “People keep coming back, so I must be doing something right.”
Want a taste of the magic? Start with Kim’s sweet yeast dough.
Sweet Yeast Dough
Dissolve 1/2 ounce yeast in 4 ounces of 110-degree water and set aside. Cream 4 ounces softened butter, 4 ounces white sugar and 3/4 ounce salt in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add 4 ounces whole eggs, about two eggs, a little at a time.
Switch to the dough hook. Add 8 ounces cool water, 1 1/4 pounds bread flour, 1/2 pound cake flour and the yeast mixture. Mix on second speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth. Divide, cover and refrigerate overnight for best results.
Cinnamon Sugar
Combine 8 ounces brown sugar, 1 pound white sugar and 1/2 cup ground cinnamon, breaking up any lumps before mixing thoroughly.
White Glaze
Sift 1 pound powdered sugar, then whisk in 3 ounces whole milk until completely smooth.
Add patience, a little creativity and plenty of love.
That part, Kim has already perfected.