Client Spotlight: D' Andrews Bakery & Cafe
TenantBase helped David Andrews find his downtown Nashville bakery space in 2017. Nine years later, D'Andrews Bakery is a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist, still baking at the same address.
David Andrews is a Nashville native, but his passion for the culinary world led him to New York, where he attended culinary school before venturing out to become a chef. David worked at several different restaurants in New York City, with his last position being Executive Chef and Pastry Chef at the Kimberly Hotel for six years, before returning home to Nashville, TN.
Update, 2026: D'Andrews Bakery & Cafe is confirmed active and still baking at 555 Church St, the exact space TenantBase helped David find in 2017. The bakery was named a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery, one of the most prestigious recognitions in American food, and has also won Best Entree and People's Choice at TASTE Nashville (2019) and Best Dessert at TASTE Nashville (2023).
David Andrews was ready to pursue his own dream of starting his own bakery in his hometown. Through mutual connections, he was pointed toward Nashville's Principal broker Tad Wood as the best person for the job. Andrews knew he wanted to be downtown, and loved the foot traffic and neighborhood environment of the area. Tad and David narrowed down the space to 555 Church St fairly quickly. Though the negotiations, LOI, and closing took almost nine months, it amounted to what Andrews felt was a fair lease, and he was excited to be an amenity of the Cumberland on Church property. "Tad did a great job keeping me sane through the process," says Andrews, "and offered the right resources through the process."
"Working with Andrews was a true pleasure. He had a location in mind when he came to me. We explored a few other sites just to make sure and circled back to his original spot. Once we settled on the location, we began to focus and negotiate until we had saved roughly $70,000 off of the originally offered amount."
Tad Wood, TenantBase Principal Broker
Tad continues, "He knew what he was looking for and had an understanding of the process. A lot of times people have an idea but have a difficult time getting others to understand their vision. David produced examples of other restaurants, a menu, a narrative, and a schematic design of what he thought his space would look like."
Since coming back to Nashville, Andrews was excited about the restaurant scene and felt as though the neighborhoods of Nashville had really matured in the city. His favorite restaurants were Mitchell's Deli and Cafe Roze in East Nashville, along with Tanzu.
Opening a new venture like a bakery presents its own unique challenges. As David worked through the beginning stages of opening, he offered advice to others down the line. "Nail down your financing and budget. It will allow you to be more creative in the long run."
D'Andrews Bakery planned to open in early 2018, featuring traditional baked goods and shelved goods with a southern twist. Keep in the know on the bakery via their official website.
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