Paula Wallace has always been a dedicated teacher. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she began giving children in her neighborhood piano lessons at the age of 12. In her 20s, she joined the Atlanta elementary school system, working just a few blocks from where she’d spent her early years.
There, she soon realized that her more artistically inclined students had nowhere in Georgia to truly cultivate their talents. In 1978, she and her family sold their belongings to buy Poetter Hall, a dilapidated building in Savannah, the coastal city a four-hour drive away. She founded the Savannah College of Art and Design on the premises, giving a school to the kind of students she’d once taught.
Today, it enrolls 18,000 students yearly, and well-known designers like Christopher John Rogers and artists like Summer Wheat are among its alumni. Wallace is still its president.
Here, the university co-founder and entrepreneur shares her favorite places to eat, shop, and stay in the city she calls home.
MRS. WILKES’ DINING ROOM
For lunch, pull up a chair in Mrs. Wilkes’s Dining Room. A Southern grandmother’s sideboard reborn, it’s always filled with pillowy corn muffins, fried chicken, field peas, and other farm-fresh forage swimming in “pot likker.” Trust me, you’ll want seconds (they’re included in the price). You’ll share a communal table with strangers, but fret not—by the cobbler, they’ll be old friends. (mrswilkes.com)
PROVISIONS
Provisions is a trove of local treasures, from artisanal groceries to wines to gifts, all of which taste and feel like the South itself. Put together a picnic basket full of delectable goods (don’t miss the fig sausage!) and stroll over to Lafayette Square, just steps from Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home. Unpack your feast beneath the oaks while gazing at the soaring Gothic steeples of the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist—a tableau of Lowcountry grace and history. (provisions-sav.com)
PW SHORT MERCANTILE
A reimagined general store stacked with barware, books, French copper pots, sea salt, and smartphone chargers—you name it. Everything is selected with an artist’s eye for utility and style. (pwshort.com)
PERRY LANE HOTEL
Where old-school charm meets fresh, modern spirit. End your busy-bee day the Savannah way—perched high above the city with a sunset view at the hotel’s delightful rooftop bar, Peregrin. (marriott.com)
ASHER + RYE
SCAD alum Joel Snayd and his wife Erika serve up Scandi-inspired goods here, along with espresso, matcha, and Auspicious Bakery pastries (another can’t-miss Savannah spot). Every time I stroll by, I find myself walking away with a pain au chocolat or two in hand. Warm, flaky goodness. (asherandrye.com)
ORIGIN COFFEE BAR
A favorite co-working and co-homework spot. This alum-owned roastery came together with a crew of other SCAD Bees: the elegant interior design was created by Rethink Design Studio, the murals painted by Juliana lupacchino, and the rug supplied by Balta Rugs. The perfect blend of collaborative genius. (origincoffee.bar)
MADAME CHRYSANTHEMUM
This jewel-box of a floral design studio and boutique greets guests with armfuls of blooms, European whimsy, and all the “wish you were here” postcards and stationery your luggage can fit. (madamechrysanthemum.com)
Satchel
My go-to atelier for handcrafted bags and leather goods—heady with the fragrance of fresh leather—where you can observe artisans cut, stitch, and shape each piece right before your eyes. You can even have a bag custom-made and named after you! (shopsatchel.com)
SCAD Museum of Art
The world’s most inspired university museum, bar none, and a marvel of architectural rehabilitation and contemporary design. Visitors might encounter works by Kehinde Wiley, the Haas Brothers, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, and (currently) the private collection of beloved SCAD friend and Vogue legend André Leon Talley. The show is on view through January 2026. (scadmoa.org)
SCADSTORY
Housed in Poetter Hall (“the castle on the corner”), SCADstory is an immersive 4D experience telling the university’s history. Words fail to describe its how wonderful it is. You have to see it—it may just spark your own creative dreams. (scadstory.com)
After SCADstory, head over to shopSCAD in the same building, where you can purchase gifts like no other, each of them created by SCAD students, alumni, and faculty.
You can also check out Press, SCAD’s bright and bold new coffee shop, where the scent of fresh-brewed coffee mingles with the crackle of curated vinyl. (scadpresscafe.com)
Next door, find SCAD Art Sales, a gallery of contemporary work from across the SCAD universe. You’ll find something you love to take home. Fear not, we ship! (scadartsales.com)
