Brûlé Comes to Dewey Beach
From left: Chase Cline, Dru Tevis, and Lo and Ashley Skarda
Read the article by Pam George in The Cape Current HERE.
Dru Tevis and Chase Cline Mix Talent and Heart in Dewey Beach’s Newest Bakery
In December 2022, a crowd gathered at Thompson Island Brewing Company in Rehoboth Beach to watch the finale of Holiday Baking Championship, a Food Network culinary competition. One person in the room already knew the outcome. Dru Tevis, who oversees the brewpub’s dessert program, was a contestant – and, as it turns out, the winner. The show, Tevis’s trademark topknot, and his genial personality catapulted him to fame, particularly in Delaware.
Now, Tevis and his husband, Chase Cline – another hospitality veteran – are combining their skills to open Brûlé, a new bakery in Dewey Beach. While Tevis will lead the kitchen, Cline will handle administration and marketing, making them partners in both business and life.
Dru Tevis on Holiday Baking Championship
The bakery is located in the commercial kitchen of Baked by The Dewey Post, and by August, customers will be able to purchase goodies from both Baked and The Dewey Post, which are owned by Lo and Ashley Skarda.
Tevis, a New York University graduate, fell in love with pastry while studying in Italy and later enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York (now the International Culinary Center). In Delaware, he found a happy home working in restaurants, where he honed his craft.
“I’ve loved being in restaurants for a long time, and I saw that as my path,” says Tevis, who has worked for SoDel Concepts and La Vida Hospitality Group.
The television competition introduced Tevis to a network of professionals – many of whom were business owners. Not content to rest on his laurels, Tevis took continuing education classes from master chefs in Las Vegas.
“I met several great chefs who either have bakeries or pop-up businesses,” he says.
The city’s vibrant dining scene appealed to him. Although Cline – who works for Highwater Management – would have been open to relocating, the Southern Delaware native preferred to stay put. What’s more, if Tevis moved to Las Vegas, he would likely work in a restaurant shaped by someone else’s culinary vision.
Cline got the entrepreneurial ball rolling, filing paperwork and scouting locations. Progress was slow – some spaces lacked a kitchen, others were too large.
Then they discovered the commercial kitchen at Baked. The bakery was originally started by Pam Minhas in 2015. After her passing, the Skardas took over the space to sell breakfast sandwiches and coffee while renting out the kitchen to culinary entrepreneurs.
It was the right fit for Tevis and Cline, who were looking for a space that met all code requirements.
“We don’t need a full restaurant,” Cline says. “This gets our foot in the door, so we can get a feel for owning a bakery.”
Cline came up with the name. Commonly spelled brûlée in the U.S., the French word means “burnt.” Most people associate it with the classic custard dessert topped with a crackly sugar crust.
The double “e” at the end makes the word feminine, notes Cline, who studied French. Since the partners are male, they dropped one letter.
The name doesn’t limit them to cakes, bread, or pies – giving Tevis room to make custards, cakes, pies, breakfast pastries, cookies – whatever customers crave. The duo also plans to offer wholesale desserts to restaurants, pop-ups, and participate in wine dinners and other culinary events.
Brûlé is part of a national bakery renaissance that’s still gaining traction in Delaware.
“The Station on Kings is packed. Old World Breads is packed, and they do well,” Tevis says. “There’s clearly a desire for more. The market is wide open.”
Forget Las Vegas or New York. Says the Food Network star: “This is where I have the chance to be most successful.”
