We were lucky to catch up with Claire Ernst recently and have shared our conversation below.
Claire, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Our mission at Claire’s Creperie is to build relationships and impact our community while gathering around delicious crepes. I grew up creating crepes with my dad. It was always a special time trying new sauces and fillings with seasonal fruits from our garden. When I started my own family the tradition continued. Whipping up a plate full of crepes for our international host students brought me joy. Learning how crepes differed in different parts of Europe, experimenting with fillings while hearing stories about their grandmas perfect crepes brought us all together. Crepes were common ground we could gather around and teach each other about. This blossomed into a business idea and Claire’s Creperie was born. A sweet place to gather together, create memories, build relationships, and impact our community while serving delicious crepes. Our brick and mortar is located inside a collaborative marketplace allowing us the ability to be part of a thriving foodie community. The Crepe Cart is the perfect portable option that we enjoy taking to markets, events, and venues. Nothing gives us more pleasure than getting to celebrate life’s greatest moments with those who love crepes! Along with being deeply rooted in our community we love using our Crepes for a Cause program to partner with local nonprofits who are on a mission to make an impact. At the root of it all we still take great delight in creating scrumptious crepes and watching those who stop in lick their fingers and continue the tradition of making sweet memories centered around our crepes.
Claire, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been a nurse for ten years and opening Claire’s Creperie about three years ago was a big jump. When the opportunity became available I took the leap and tried something new! With help from my local SBDC I learned all about entrepreneurship and business and launched into a new adventure. Claire’s Creperie opened October 15th, 2019 serving up fresh to order sweet, savory, and breakfast crepes. Hot coffee, and cold drinks are also always available! Claire’s Creperie is located in the heart of Mount Dora, FL inside of the Mount Dora Marketplace. Being a part of a thriving and supportive community has been the secret to our success. We have been blessed to be so loved and supported. When Covid hit, just a few months after opening, we were able to keep all of our employees on board by offering online crepe classes! After being open for a year we added The Crepe Cart to our venture. The bicycle cart was created in France and is unique and a fun way to provide crepes to our customers at local events, markets, and venues. As often as possible we partner with local farms to provide fresh ingredients and seasonal fruit for our rotating crepe menu! We hope you swing in to enjoy a delicious crepe with us sometime soon!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
When I decided to launch Claire’s Creperie I knew I wanted to start small to stay debt free. I invested my own cash to get the business up and going. Starting small and staying debt free allowed me to grow and thrive without the stress of paying back loans or paying large interest rates. Within the first few months I had made my investment back and more. I poured the profits back into the shop and bought better equipment and expanded and added the crepe cart without having to take out loans or partner with investors. Each step of the journey has been exciting and stretched me in new ways. Knowing that I can build my dreams from the ground up has given me the confidence to keep dreaming!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Claire’s Creperie has the very best crew! Our team has become a family and we treat our employees like we would want to be treated. Our team takes ownership, works hard, and cares for our customers. We try to keep morale high by being flexible with schedules, celebrating birthdays and holidays, giving bonuses and incentives, and letting our team have creative leeway. Our team is our biggest asset and key to our success. Our goal is to always make sure they know how much they are appreciated!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.clairescreperie.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/clairescreperie
- Facebook: @clairescreperie
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC6uTMhQ6ZjWa_MFMcBrlrgw
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/claire-s-creperie-mount-dora
Image Credits
@orlandofoodspots