by TM Petaccia

Those who follow the “inside baseball” aspect of Charlotte’s culinary scene were shocked to read Becca Rankin’s recent Instagram post stating she was leaving her position of pastry chef for Built on Hospitality’s The Goodyear House and Chief’s properties.

“It really came down to just a difference in values of where we saw my job and the restaurant group going,” Rankin says. “They were interested in keeping me on, however it was only under the condition that I would become their corporate pastry chef and be moved offsite from Goodyear House and placed in a separate kitchen to supply all properties from a central location. I felt like being moved off site from Goodyear was not something I was interested in.”

Built on Hospitality is in the midst of a rapid expansion track, with the recent openings of Mazi, Folia, and Chief’s to add to its The Goodyear House and Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails concepts — and has stated more will be coming in the future. It’s not atypical for restaurant groups to consolidate some of the operations, such as bread and pastry programs, to optimize costs as well as maintain greater consistency.

“I liked being there and loved working with my coworkers, she says. “This move would be very isolating for me, to be offsite somewhere, and just doing large volume production. That’s just not what I’m interested in. Somebody out there will love that job, really crush it, and do great things. It just wasn’t a good fit for me.”

With the BOH door closed, the native Charlottean decided to open another. Rankin is launching Tart, a direct-to-consumer baked goods and pastry service. Customers will be able to order many of the same items they enjoyed at The Goodyear House and Chief’s plus other items, such as her focaccia loaves, brown butter chocolate chip cookies, many of the pastries originally offered at the Chief’s morning coffee service, as well as the Goodyear House’s dessert brownies (offered with an optional quart of her own ice cream).

She will also be offering a variety of cakes and pies, breakfast baskets, dinner rolls, and cookies. “I plan on doing a lot of sourcing from farmers markets and local farmers as well as Freshlist,” Rankin says. “Supporting local is really important to me.” Offerings and ordering instructions will be listed via her Instagram page, @blrankin. Pickup spots are slated for North, South, East, and West Charlotte — with home delivery available for an extra fee.

“I want to start small, get my feet wet, and see what’s going to work,” Rankin says. “I’ve had all this experience in restaurants. Producing things outside of restaurants can be a little bit different. So I want to go slow for now.”

Future plans include small business collaborations, pop-ups, and event catering.

“We love Becca and are very thankful for the five years she spent creating for BOH,” says Chris Coleman, Built on Hospitality partner and executive chef. “I’ve spent so much time telling everyone she is the most talented, unheralded pastry chef in Charlotte, and I still believe that. While I am sad to see her time with us come to an end, we are excited for this new chapter in her life and wish her all the best.”

“As much as I loved my job at The Goodyear House, I’m very excited about this,” Rankin says. “There’s no bad blood at all between me and Chris at all. I adore him; he’s wonderful. But it’s time for me to do my own thing.”