Courtesy of Downtown Norfolk Council
“People here are really kind,” says Parisian-born Jacqueline Devulder of La Brioche, her accent as buttery rich as her husband Yvan’s croissants. “They’re very supportive with small businesses.” Proof abounds. Soon after the bakery’s March opening, a regular strode in and hung a photo he’d taken of the Champs-Élysées on the wall by the meringues and palmiers. Another gifted them with a vintage “We Bake Our Own Bread” neon sign.
Apropos, as Yvan produces baguettes and brioche in Norfolk’s NEON District so evocative that customers can’t help reminisce about their European travels while picking up pastries in the morning and sandwiches at lunch, grabbing quiche for dinner or heading upstairs to savor a luscious éclair with coffee and a book. “We are a real French artisan bakery. We don’t do doughnuts, and if something is gluten-free, it’s only because that’s the way it’s always been made,” she states warmly. “We use butter, we use sugar. Everything that makes people happy.”
La Brioche is located at 765 Granby St., Norfolk. 757-226-9745
Marisa Marsey
Marisa Marsey is a food, beverage and travel writer whose awards include 1st place Food Writing from the Virginia Press Association. A Johnson & Wales University representative, she has sipped Château d'Yquem '75 with Jean-Louis Palladin, sherpa-ed for Edna Lewis and savored interviews with Wolfgang Puck and Patrick O’Connell.
