Paula Kramer is the co-owner of cult-favorite Charleston bakery and café Baguette Magic, a neighborhood institution known for its scratch-made pastries, thoughtfully sourced ingredients, and deep roots in the local community.
Before becoming a restaurant owner, Paula built her career in restaurant marketing, pairing strategic brand work with hands-on experience in food trucks, kitchens, and dining rooms. That ground-up understanding of hospitality shaped her people-first approach to ownership and operations.
In November 2019, Paula purchased Baguette Magic with her sister, Samantha Kramer, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the industry. When dining rooms closed in March 2020, they quickly pivoted Baguette Magic into a community lifeline—organizing weekly deliveries that combined house-made baked goods and prepared foods with products from local farmers and purveyors. At the height of lockdown, the team was fulfilling up to 200 deliveries a day, building a loyal customer base across Charleston.As in-person dining returned, Baguette Magic continued to grow. From 2021 through 2025, the bakery was voted Best Bakery by Charleston City Paper, with additional recognition from the Post and Courier and other local publications. Today, Baguette Magic operates two locations in the Charleston area.
Beyond the bakery, Paula is the co-creator and operator of Kultura, a chef-driven Filipino restaurant founded with her husband, Chef Nikko Cagalanan, where she leads branding, concept development, and operations. She is also the visionary behind Bareo, a dumpling and kakigori bar in downtown Charleston inspired by neighborhood “baryo” culture.
Across all ventures, Paula is known for building thoughtful, community-centered restaurants rooted in culture, storytelling, and intentional growth.
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
