Crisp Creperie owner hopes to keep food truck in Federal Way

Published 3:36 pm Friday, April 3, 2015

Turkey and peppered bacon, prosciutto and brie, ham and fried egg crepes; banana and salted caramel, Nutella and marshmallow and strawberry and lemon curd crepes.

Hungry yet?

These food concoctions are all wrapped in very thin French pancakes and served out of a food truck called the Crisp Creperie.

The truck dawns a mustache on the bumper, eyelashes with red rhinestone eyeliner and a big red bow to complete the look.

“Our truck has a giant open window with the three crepe machines right in front of it so it’s a lot of fun, people can interact with us and we play funky music,” said Crisp Creperie owner Debi Hernandez. “It’s just a lot of fun talking to people, being creative and cooking.”

Hernandez bought Crisp Creperie six months ago but has kept the two-year-old food truck’s identity the same, for the most part.

“I kept their original menu, which all the customers love,” Hernandez said. “I mean, if I would have changed anything, they wouldn’t be happy about that. But I still can be creative because I add a weekly special every week.”

Keeping the same route of three days in Seattle, two in Bellevue and one currently in Federal Way, Hernandez said the weekly special often includes Asian food or spicy ethnic flavors.

Ingredients such as coconut chicken curry especially appeal to her Seattle customers.

“People in Seattle absolutely love Asian food,” she said. “So it’s a really good avenue and they seem to really expect it and wait for the next week to try something new.”

The Crisp Creperie food truck is currently scheduled to stick around in Federal Way for the next couple of weeks but if Hernandez can’t draw on more business, she may have to move.

“We’re trying to get a presence going there,” Hernandez said of her location at The Commons mall parking lot. “We’re working with the Commons and they would like to have a bunch of food trucks come but right now it’s kind of slow going getting the word out.”

Hernandez said Mayor Jim Ferrell has also expressed interest in getting more food trucks in Federal Way because it “creates a carnival atmosphere.”

“People just tend to like them once they realize they’re not a ‘taco’ truck, that they’re very clean and have gourmet food,” she said.

Hernandez, an Auburn resident, is connected to the Federal Way community as her husband is the general manager of locally owned Black Bear Diner and hopes to keep her business in the city because her production kitchen is local as well.

“The people that actually come to the truck, they love it,” she said. “They really like us to come but unfortunately if we don’t have enough business to support that, we won’t be able to.”

Hernandez operates the food truck with an assistant who mans the cash register and makes the milkshakes, fruit smoothies and pours the lemonade and soda.

Hernandez reserves the weekend for private event catering and has served wine tastings, weddings and even school cultural events.

“We’ve been to several French schools and to high schools, specifically for French class,” she said. “The students will order in French to us so they can actually use their language skills. It’s especially fun with the kids.”

And food trucks at weddings are a rising trend, Hernandez said.

“A lot of the young brides really want the food trucks,” she said, adding that crepes can also be dressed up to be a very formal food. “Not only are they affordable but they’re funky and they create a fun atmosphere that I think young and old really appreciate.”

Prior to moving to the Northwest, graduating culinary school and working at restaurants such as RN74 in Seattle, a French restaurant, and Ray’s Boathouse in Ballard, Hernandez lived in Las Vegas for 25 years with her husband.

With a background in sales, one day she and her husband sold their house, bought an RV and became RV missionaries.

“It was fun, we went around building churches and things like that,” Hernandez recalled.

After being a line cook for a few years, Hernandez realized she wanted to get out on her own and have the opportunity to work with people while she cooks.

“I really wanted a way to incorporate the two so I started looking around for a truck and I found that Crisp Creperie was up for sale,” she said. “They had won best new food truck and best food truck and they had a wonderful reputation.”

But she was unsure because she didn’t know much about crepes. However, after she let it sink in she realized crepes are versatile and “kind of like a tortilla.”

“You can put absolutely anything you want in them,” she said.

Now, Hernandez’s business goals include buying an additional truck within the next year and opening a brick and mortar in South King County within five years.

“Business has been good,” she said. “Of course, when I took it over, it was heading right into the winter time so it was slow.”

But because spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner, Hernandez is getting busier with Crisp Creperie.

Just last weekend, she served Crisp Creperie food at the Taste of Washington and plans on attending the Mobile Food Rodeo in Seattle this May.

Crisp Creperie will be located at The Commons mall parking lot in the back on the corner of South 324th Street and Pacific Highway South from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30/2 p.m. on Thursday  April 9 and April 16.

For more information, visit www.crispseattle.com or like the Facebook page by searching “Crisp Seattle.”