creperie
La Petite Creperie
La Petite Creperie, a popular mobile food vendor, has opened a brick and mortar restaurant.
Le Petite Creperie first showed up at the downtown Lexington Farmers’ Market in 2010 and at special events. From under a tent, the “crepe ladies” serve simple, traditional crepes. They’re either sweet, like with banana, chocolate or cinnamon, or stuffed full of ham, eggs, cheese or vegetables.
“It’s unbelievable. We just have long lines all the time,” said Shannon Arnold, who operates the mobile business.
Arnold and business partner Linda Chambers opened the Le Petite Creperie restaurant on Kentucky Avenue across from Woodland Park in what was most recently Six Friends Cafe.
Arnold and Chambers taught French at The Lexington School or Sayre and spent time in Paris.
“In France, I ate a lot of (crepes) because they’re ‘student, budget friendly.’ You could get a pretty nice meal fast for a few bucks,” Arnold said. “They’d cook right in front of you and you’d walk away with them. Easy, quick and cheap.”
“I’m French and came here 10 years ago with a family restaurant background,” added Chambers, who admits to needing time to get comfortable with American food and culture before opening a restaurant.
“I wanted to introduce the French casual experience to Lexington. French food is often thought of as sophisticated, expensive and slow, but there’s also a French culture of casual eating. I drove around Lexington for years to find a patio that reminded me of patios in France. We found this house, bought it and turned it into a restaurant,” Chambers said.
The crepe ladies plan to continue the mobile portion of their business.
For more information about the restaurant, visit their Facebook page.