La Baguette’s new Lewes store was a beehive of activity during a recent visit. Contractors were working inside and out to get the award-winning French bakery’s second location ready for a soft opening.
“There are a million things going on, many moving parts,” said owner Anita Wheeler-Bezy. “All the equipment is in; the ovens are working. We’re just waiting for the health inspector to come.”
Wheeler-Bezy talked in the front of the new store, which is also serving as a makeshift office until the dust settles.
She and her husband, chef Ludovic Bezy, are just days away from serving the first baguettes and croissants to customers at the former Touch of Italy location in the Villages of Five Points.
“He runs the back of the house, I run the front of the house,” she said.
The Bezys opened the original La Baguette on Governors Avenue in Dover in 2017.
“We tried for a long time, but the banks would never say ‘yes.’ So we did something called the Chef’s Table, a four-course mystery menu. It was because of the testimonials and sold-out events week after week that we were finally able to open La Baguette,” she said.
They both quit their day jobs at the same time in favor of a job that keeps them working 24/7.
But their journey to southern Delaware really began decades ago in northern France, where they both grew up.
“My dad was a G.I. in the U.S. Air Force. My mom is from France. I was visiting my grandparents, and that’s how I met my husband. We got married over there in our hometown,” Wheeler-Bezy said. “I grew up speaking both languages. That’s why I don’t have an accent.”
She continued, “My grandmother used to own a bakery/café. That’s how my mom and dad met. The G.I.s used to come to the bakery/cafe in the small village in the Champagne region.”
Wheeler-Bezy said her husband was trained as a chef in France and has been baking for almost 40 years. She said it’s that experience that gives their French bakery a special touch.
“It’s thanks to his talents that we exist. It’s his technique, what he’s learned over the years, that we can make a great baguette and croissant. We make and bake everything in house from scratch. You can’t find anybody who makes and bakes everything on site,” she said.
She also credits the finest flour and an oven that’s imported from Italy.
“It’s a very powerful convection, gas-powered oven. It’s the perfect temperature. It keeps heat for a long time and makes crust like no other baguette. It can do 600 loaves an hour,” she said.
They’ll need it. The Bezys already do a robust wholesale businesses and will soon be baking all the bread for a local restaurant chain and a restaurant in Dover.
“They’ve been begging us for years. But I said, ‘I don’t know if we’re ready for this,’ because it’s a lot more work. But this kitchen is going to make our lives easier,” Wheeler-Bezy said.
For the time being, all the bread will be baked in Lewes and pastries in Dover.
La Baguette’s menu also has sandwiches, pizza and quiche.
“I think a big seller here will be the La Jambon Beurre, a ham and butter sandwich on a baguette with a French pickle,” Wheeler-Bezy said.
She said a soft opening is planned for sometime in November. La Baguette’s grand opening is set for 11 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 3.
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