Sunday, January 24, 2010

Apied piper of sorts has moved into a Bahama Village neighborhood, enticing people to its door not with music, but with an aromatic combination of sweet and savory smells.

La Crêperie, a French-style eatery serving sandwiches, coffees, ice cream -- and, of course, crêpes -- reopened last week at its new location on Petronia Street, across from Blue Heaven Restaurant.

The eatery closed in March after a fire broke out in an adjacent building, temporarily putting La Crêperie and two other local merchants out of business.

Co-owner Yolande Findley recalled getting a late-night call from an employee the night of the fire and rushing downtown.

"I had two different shoes on when I arrived on Duval," she said. "And I just watched the building burn from Jack Flats."

Findlay said she and her business partner, Sylvie Le Nouail, decided there was nothing more they could do that night, and with a "C'est la vie" attitude, the two effervescent French women promptly took themselves to the Green Parrot Bar to forget about their troubles.

"We drank and danced the night way," Findlay said.

She said she also feels like dancing this week after working for 10 months to reopen.

"It's like you are at someone's house in Brittany (France), and it's a party every day," she said of the atmosphere.

Much as its previous location on Duval Street, the new La Crêperie oozes with charm and an overall ambiance of the French countryside, where both Le Nouail and Findley originally hail.

A colorful mural -- taken from an actual picture of the view from Findlay's home in Brittany in northwestern France -- adorns an entire wall.

The Petronia Street location allowed them to add counter seating and several small bistro tables and chairs.

"I think what people like very much is to sit around the bar and watch the kitchen," Findlay said as a savory crepe of salmon in a light lemon chive cream sauce bubbled on the griddle behind her.

A few blue tables and vibrant-red benches also are found on the covered sidewalk outside for those wishing to eat en plein air.

Patrons can still find authentic French crepes stuffed with fresh ingredients. All the old favorites remain, and Le Nouail has added a few additional French plates, such as onion soup, croque monsieur, escargots and platters of pate and assorted cold cuts.

The menu still displays dozens of combinations of ingredients: various fruits and jams, maple syrup, Nutella, honey, coconut, whipped cream, almonds and walnuts, and raspberry coulis, to name a few. For savory buckwheat crêpes or paninis, choose your combination of fresh cheeses, herbs, pestos, vegetables and meats. Crêpes also are made to order.

Despite a 10-month hiatus, Le Nouail works just as quickly and efficiently as ever -- her speed a carryover from the days when La Crêperie had no sit-down diners. The brisk pace no doubt is still appreciated by those looking for a quick bite on their lunch break.

La Crêperie has retained its popular walk-up window for people looking to eat or grab a coffee on the go.

"We did that window just for our regulars (from when we were) on Duval Street," Findlay said. "We open at 7 a.m. and we have our regulars who come every day to get coffee. ... We have so much fun at the window," she added, explaining how stories and gossip are shared throughout the day.

A couple of differences in the new creperie are that it closes at 4 p.m. daily, and will be offering beer and wine when it receives its license in a few weeks.

After just a week, some of the tourists who used to frequent the shop on Duval Street already have found La Crêperie at its new home. Findlay said one tourist couple who regularly patronized the shop every time they visited the last six years tracked down her home phone number and called to ask what had happened to the place. They were thrilled to hear they had come just in time for the reopening.

"Isn't that amazing? I love that," Findlay said.

After the fire, Findlay and Le Nouail decided to take the summer off and worry about finding a new location in the fall so they could be open for season. They rented two storage rooms to house the kitchen equipment that survived the fire, and Le Nouail worked at Martin's and Mangia Mangia, while Findlay took a job as a concierge to help pay the bills.

"We knew we were going to reopen; we just didn't know where," Findlay said.

They had hoped to find another place on Duval, where they had had so much success, but in September, they fell in love with their new home at Petronia and Thomas streets.

"What appealed to us was the corner," Findlay said, gesturing at the large windows lining two of the walls. "We thought it was very European. We thought it had a lot of potential."

The ladies cashed in their 401K funds to finance the renovations.

"We never knew from one day to another if the insurance company was going to pay us, but we said, 'What the hell,' " Findlay said. An insurance check finally arrived the week before Christmas.

La Crêperie joins a growing number of shops and restaurants on Petronia Street, one of the main arteries into Bahama Village.

Within a few blocks, visitors have their choice of island cuisine at Blue Heaven, tapas at Santiago's Bodega, South American specialities at Columbian Grace, or Cuban, American and Conch cuisine at Dennis Island Cafe.

"It was good for us to be on Duval for the exposure, but this is more local, more islandy," Le Nouail said. "It's a good, local neighborhood."

La Crêperie was the last of the three businesses damaged in last year's fire to reopen. The American Royal Arts Corp. gallery reopened July 4 just a few doors down from its old storefront.

Montage sign shop reopened last month in Clinton Square Market, said Maureen Laferriere, who owns the business with her husband, Louis.

amswary@keysnews.com