David Andrews

Entrepreneurial Roots

I came up in the family business: the specialty department store, McClures. In 2002, my family closed McClures after an 80-year run. It was heartbreaking but provided the opportunity to follow another dream; I went to New York to study at the Institute of Culinary Education with the ultimate goal of opening a bakery. My first internship-turned-job was at Gotham Bar and Grill (now Gotham Restaurant), and I later became the executive chef of the Kimberly Hotel. After 13 years in New York, I was ready to come home to start my own business.

Mentors

I have to give a shout-out to two pastry chefs from my early days at Gotham: Deborah Racicot and Danielle Kapner. Together, they taught me so much about flavors, technique, timing and — most importantly — the ways of the kitchen. I learned to recognize good flavors and good flavor combinations. I learned how to survive. All of this laid a strong foundation for starting D’Andrews.

Proudest Moment

That would be when I recognized my dream was coming to life: I had a vision of opening an amazing bakery in my hometown. It would have world-class pastries, a savory breakfast and lunch program, and espresso service featuring locally roasted coffee. Having spent years in Manhattan, I liked the ever-moving, urban vibe of downtown Nashville, so I was fortunate to find our space on Church Street. In the almost 5 years since, we’ve become part of a great neighborhood and serve a balance of tourists and regulars.

Best Bites

Our chouquettes: In the early days, we made éclairs, then shifted to making these French cream puffs instead. They bake up light, but the pearl-sugar topping gives them a nice crunch. My favorite is filled with strawberry whipped cream, fresh strawberries and a dot of strawberry preserves. Our hand-painted macarons can’t be beat; and the Double Chocolate Dulcey Cookie is what I like to bring home to treat myself: bittersweet chocolate with bits of caramelized white chocolate. It’s excellent with red wine!

Looking Ahead

Downtown is exploding! We are grateful for our success and want to focus more on our advanced pastry program — we are looking to create more croissant variations. We plan to increase our catering business, and, after a long hiatus, I am excited to teach classes again.

Crossroads To A Career

In college, I was unhappily pursuing a business degree and went to work at a horse ranch to clear my head. I remember calling my mom to tell her: “I want to cook and bake.” She encouraged me, so I enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, graduating in 1998. I first worked at the Ritz-Carlton, where I discovered that I hated hotel life. I found a woman-run bakery-bistro in Tustin, California, and felt like I had arrived. I married a Marine and we moved around a lot but always kept baking. When my husband retired, we moved to Franklin to raise our kids, and he said, “It’s your turn.” I opened a tiny place in Franklin in 2016, and Triple Crown moved to our current location, the green house, in August 2020.

Mentor

Zov Karamardian. I worked for her for five years at Zov’s in Tustin, and she’s a force. She’s opened six restaurants, written cookbooks and knew Julia Child; she was so giving and encouraging on top of that. It helped me see what kind of boss I could be and what kind of place I could create. Having a wonderful team of women working with me in this Franklin house is my dream come true.

Inspiration

We’re in the South, so there’s that influence, and we use a lot of French techniques and recipes. We like to incorporate a global approach, though, and enjoy introducing folks to pastries they may have never encountered before, like Swedish, Jewish or Australian confections.

MUST-HAVES

I recommend our wonderful Pavlova, the classic meringue shell filled with whipped cream and fresh berries. Our cakes, of course, form the basis of our business, so we strive to have a variety of petite versions available every day in the display case — as well as 6-inch cakes for last-minute celebrations.

Goals For 2023

We are focusing on establishing things our customers have been requesting, like our high tea service, complete with a tower of scones, tea sandwiches and such. We are planning to have Dessert Nights to complement Franklin’s monthly Art Crawls, and we will make Triple Crown available for special event rental.