Meet The Baker’s: Brochu’s Family Tradition

July 17, 2026

Brochu’s does not feel like a response to a trend. It does not feel like a restaurant trying to prove it belongs in a modern food city. It feels settled. Confident. Almost stubborn in its refusal to explain itself. Fried chicken, oysters, pies, and sides that taste like they have always existed, even though the hands behind them carry résumés most cities would brag about loudly

However, you can walk into Brochu’s Family Tradition on any given night and you can feel how easily assumptions form. The name on the door does a lot of work. Brochu’s. Singular. Definitive. It sounds like a chef standing at the pass, calling tickets, wiping plates, watching the room.

Most people assume that is exactly what is happening.

Andrew Brochu understands that assumption, and he is perfectly comfortable dismantling it.

“People think I’m back there every night,” he says. “And I love that they trust the name. But Brochu’s was never meant to be about me cooking every plate. It was meant to be about building something that lasts.” What lasts, it turns out, is also built by two people most diners never meet.

This is their story.

Brochu’s is named after Andrew Brochu and his wife Sophie, but the kitchen belongs to Executive Chef Dave Baker and Executive Pastry Chef Georgia Vinzant Baker. They shape the food. They help set the tone. They are committed to make sure the experience feels the same on a Wednesday as it does
on a Saturday.

Andrew is not shy about that.

“Dave and Georgia are the reason the food is what it is,” he says. “I’ve worked with Dave for over a decade. There was never a question about who should run the kitchen here.”

That trust goes back to Chicago, to kitchens where standards were non–negotiable and reputations were earned quietly. Andrew, Dave, and Georgia all crossed paths at Graham Elliot, a place that demanded precision and humility at the same time.

“We all came up in fine dining,” Andrew says. “That background shapes everything, even when you’re serving fried chicken.”

Why the Bakers Came South

Dave Baker grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He started bussing tables as a teenager, worked his way onto the line, and eventually chased the pressure that only Chicago can offer. He learned systems, leadership, and how to run a kitchen without burning it down emotionally.

“I didn’t want chaos anymore,” Dave says. “I wanted consistency. I wanted people to want to come to work.”

Georgia Vinzant Baker’s path led through Mississippi and into pastry kitchens that valued technique over nostalgia, even as her instincts stayed rooted in Southern memory. She did not set out to be a pastry chef, but once she moved into it, she never left.

Andrew saw something in both of them that mattered more than résumés.

“They care,” he says. “They care about the food, the people, and the room. That’s not something you can teach.”

When Andrew decided to open a restaurant in Savannah, bringing the Bakers was never a secondary thought.

“There was no version of this place without them,” he says. “If they weren’t coming, it wasn’t happening.”

Casual Food, Serious Intent

Brochu’s gets described as casual, and that word is accurate, but incomplete. The room is relaxed. The menu is approachable. You can drink a beer and eat with your hands. But the kitchen runs with fine dining discipline.

“Casual doesn’t mean careless,” Andrew says. “That’s something Dave understands better than anyone.” Dave agrees.

“We still operate like a fine dining kitchen,” he says. “We just don’t yell anymore. The mindset is the same. The environment is better.”

That mindset shows up in dishes that feel familiar but carry depth. Fried chicken that tastes simple and complete.

Seafood handled with restraint. Plates like the dirty fried rice, layered with chicken tenders and livers, butter braised cabbage, egg yolk sauce, mustard hot sauce, and Cajun spice. It reads playful. It eats thoughtful.

“This food is supposed to feel good,” Andrew says. “Not intimidating. Not precious. Just right.”

The Quiet Power of Pastry

If the savory menu builds trust, the desserts build loyalty.

Georgia’s pastry program is rooted in recognition. Banana pudding. Strawberry shortcake. Key lime pie that sells out three nights in a row when it appears. “She understands memory,” Andrew says.

“That’s rare. A lot of pastry chefs chase novelty. Georgia chases feeling.”

Georgia does not argue.

“People want things they know,” she says. “They want dessert to feel comforting.”

Her fine dining background shows up in texture and balance, not in spectacle. Her desserts never shout. They settle in.

Andrew is quick to give credit.

“She could do anything she wants,” he says. “But she chooses to do what makes sense here. That’s leadership.”

A Restaurant Built for Locals

Brochu’s was never designed to announce itself as part of Savannah’s culinary evolution, even though it undeniably is.

“This was always meant to be a neighborhood restaurant,” Andrew says. “The kind of place people come back to without thinking about it.”

That intention shows in the crowd. Locals. Industry folks. Families. People who are not here to be impressed, but to be fed.

Dave sees it every night.

“The support from locals has been huge,” he says. “That’s what keeps a place alive.”

Why This Story Matters

Brochu’s works because the name on the door does not overshadow the people behind it. It creates space for them.

“I trust them completely,” Andrew says. “That’s the whole point.”

Meet the Bakers, and you start to understand why the restaurant feels the way it does. Why it is calm. Why it is consistent. Why it feels like it belongs.

You may walk in assuming you know who is cooking your dinner.

You leave knowing it does not matter.

What matters is that the right people are.

Photos by Robin Maaya, Starchefs and KathrynAnn Waller