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Kimberly Deane of The Rustic Tart is our November WCW

Kimberly Deane of The Rustic Tart is our November WCW

On the first Wednesday of every month, the family law office of Phillips & Peters celebrates Women Crush Wednesday! These are not sponsored or paid posts – just women business owners we think are crushing it in Hampton Roads that we love to support.

KImberly Deane of The Rustic TartOn any fine weathered weekday, you are likely to see the ladies of Phillips & Peters striding down Granby street around lunchtime. The days we love the most are the ones when we return to the office with brown boxes wrapped in red ribbon. Those are the days we gave in to our cravings and visited The Rustic Tart.

Red Door Entrance to The Rustic Tart

Tucked between aLatte Café and The Benjack Studio Theatre you will find The Rustic Tart owned and operated by Ms. Kimberly Deane. Walking through the bright red door the senses meet the smell of freshly baked goods. A smiling staff member greets every new guest from behind the case of tantalizing pies and tarts. Ask the entirety of Coastal Virginia to name their favorite desserts. Tarts most likely won’t make the top 10 list because not everyone is familiar with the closest cousin to pie.

Even Mrs. Deane wasn’t familiar with tarts until 2015. Then she was a full-time real estate agent with over a decade in the industry. She was looking for a change when she picked up “Bouchon Bakery” by Thomas Keller. Through that cookbook, she was introduced to tarts and with no culinary experience start baking.

It wasn’t long after that moment that Kimberly offered her confections at pop up locations regionally. While trying to learn all she could about her craft she connected with the macaron queen of Norfolk, Kisha Moore. Kisha mentored Kimberly on baking and starting a business. With that knowledge and a lot of bootstrapping hard work, the Rustic Tart opened on December 3rd, 2016.

Lemon PieCasson from The Rustic Tart

Since then Kimberly has learned even more about baking and owning a business. Her first piece of advice to aspiring business owners was practical and simple. “Educate yourself on what it is to own a business. Learn the difference between doing payroll and making payroll. Remember it’s not all glitz and glamor. Educate yourself on what it means to be an owner. Decide and settle in your own heart that it is what you’re going to do and then do it.” Mrs. Deane made a great point in noting that “Bills and taxes are still due whether you know about them or not.”

Count the cost. Not just financially but emotionally and physically and intellectually.

Through our time with Kimberly, we learned The Rustic Tart is a debt-free company. That can be attributed to her focused work ethic. When asked for her ingredients to success Kimberly said she does her best work when she keeps her head down. “Be wise about the business climate you are in but keep your head down so you can focus on what your product is and work hard at it.” We know in our highly curated, social media-driven culture there is so much to see and compare ourselves to. It’s even easier to be distracted in the competitive local food industry. Though Kim’s advice rings true in any industry: “Stay focused on what you believe. Stay focused on your own product”.

The Good Shepherd PieCasso

She takes her own advice to heart as the Phillips & Peters crew has never had a bad product from her shop. When a new creation drops on Facebook, our team wants to be the first ones in the store. We’ve recently loved the addition of the creative and savory “Good Shepherd PieCasso”! Oh and a PieCasso? That’s a Rustic Tart creation as well. We won’t ruin the surprise. You’ll just have to go in and try it yourself.

Once you enjoy the deliciousness of The Rustic Tart you’ll absolutely want to share with your loved ones. Luckily we are in the giving holiday season and Kimberly Deane takes corporate orders. Her team can do any number of slices or tarts. Last year they sent 1000 tarts to an entire organization as a holiday gift.

Tart variety

Or maybe you just need to wow your Thanksgiving guests. This year the pie ordering process has been streamlined just for that. The Rustic Tart is offering six classic treats including the Carrot Cake PieCasso which recently graced the cover of Distinction magazine. So take some time this November and treat yourself to the little luxuries of The Rustic Tart. We know you’ll enjoy whatever you choose. We can’t wait to see you there.

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