Business builds for sweet and savory Crepes by the Lakes

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, July 17, 2014

Shani Blueford

Sometimes all the stars align and a business comes together as if it were meant to be. It was like that for the owners of Crepes by the Lakes.

The food cart that makes sweet and savory crepes using fresh, organic and locally sourced ingredients can be found in a number of locations around Kalamazoo.

Owners Danielle Barney and Stephanie Lenhart were in the Washington D.C. area when they decided to come back to the Midwest where the lifestyle was more affordable. Barney was from Battle Creek, so it was easy for the two of them to settle in Kalamazoo.

"Everyone was so supportive," says Lenhart. "We liked the culture and that we could purchase a house here." They bought a Queen Victorian home in the Stuart Neighborhood that they are bringing back into a single family home from one used for rentals.

The food cart debuted at the Bank Street Farmers Market in Kalamazoo in mid-May. Lenhart says she had been working in the deli at People's Food Co-op and Barney was working in the deli at Irving's Market on the Kalamazoo Mall. Lenhart previously gotten a degree in business and then attended culinary school and Barney has been working in kitchens from the age of 16.

The two knew they wanted to do a food business together in Kalamazoo and when the City of Kalamazoo passed its ordinance allowing food trucks they were very excited about the possibilities that had just opened up for them. Still they were not certain in which direction to go.

Lenhart talked to her family about it and they recommended crepes. Lenhart lived in Paris the first five years of her life and her mother has always made the thin pancakes associated with France. "They've been a huge part of my upbringing," Lenhart says.

Barney, not knowing that Lenhart was leaning toward creating and selling crepes, meanwhile had located a crepe cart on e-Bay. "She was already on it," Lenhart says. A couple in Florida had previously used the cart in the early years of their business before they moved into a brick and mortar location. They had decided to get out of the restaurant business altogether and their custom-made cart was for sale. The 8-year-old cart is custom made because at the time the couple decided to go into the business of selling crepes by cart no one was making the carts. It had to be specially built for them. The result is that Lenhart and Barney obtained a cart that met all their needs. They flew down to Florida to and returned with their food cart.

They got all the necessary approvals and started selling crepes. (The food cart meets the same requirements as a food truck, but has more limitations as it can be open to the weather, more of a concern in Michigan than it is in Florida.) They have a spot on the Kalamazoo Mall where they sell crepes on Tuesday and Thursdays. They are in Bronson Park for Lunchtime Live on Fridays, at 100 Mile Market at People's Food Co-op on Wednesdays and at the Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also have been asked to be part of the Taste of Kalamazoo this year, July 24-26.

Because they strive for locally sourced ingredients for their sweet and savory crepes their menu changes with the season. Everything is made from scratch. Some local favorites are the Philly Cheese crepe; the huevo ranchero crepe; the creprese with mozzarella, basil and greens.

Basics are on the menu, too, such as ham and cheese and turkey and cheese. Sweet crepes offerings include sugar and cinnamon, blueberry and nutella; blueberry and marscapone with almonds on top; ;apples with candied pecans and a special caramel sauce created by Cherri Emery of Cherri's Chocol'art. She also is creating a special habanero chocolate sauce that will work with crepes.

"We are having fun with it," Lenhart says. "Now that we have the technique down and have gotten used to working side-by-side it's getting really fun."

Source: ?Stephanie Lenhart, Crepes by the Lakes