Several metro area eateries have recently expanded to the mountains...and vice versa. Demand inspired the new Crepe Therapy outposts, McQueen explains; last ski season, each cafe hand-poured around 600 sweet and savory crepes daily.
These buttery, delicate pancakes are nostalgic to McQueen, who spent her adolescent years in Paris. Originally from the Ivory Coast, her family lived in low-income housing in a multi-ethnic community there. “Food was our currency. We didn't have anything else,” says McQueen, recalling her Tunisian and Moroccan neighbors sharing pistachios, dates, couscous and pots of spiced, slow-simmered tagine.
Inspired by her epicurean upbringing, McQueen attended culinary school in France and learned classic techniques. But she admits she wasn’t particularly fond of the program, preferring to add her “own sauce” to her cooking.
Her personal, health-forward approach proved successful after she emigrated to the United States in 2002. For a few years, she worked seasonally between Aspen and Maine before calling Colorado her permanent home.
“Most people forget that I’m French,” jokes McQueen, who’s often listed as a local during Aspen’s Food & Wine Classic and other culinary events. “I wear it with a badge of honor. I want to share with the world that there’s great diversity and entrepreneurship in Colorado.”
Given her plans to open Crepe Therapy Cafe locations nationwide, the Front Range was an obvious first step. Visitors to the upcoming Boulder and Denver locations can expect sharp uniforms, beautiful decor and a radiant brightness. “I want to wake you up. I want you to feel like I see you; I acknowledge you,” says McQueen.
“I make a conscious effort to include everybody when I prepare a meal, because I want everybody to be welcome,” she adds. To empasize that, the crepe menu features a robust selection, with many plant-based dishes and gluten-free options made from buckwheat batter.
The expansive crepe menu includes vegan and gluten-free options.
Crepe Therapy Cafe
Crepe Therapy Cafe has launched a social media campaign to allow the public to choose the new Denver and Boulder locations’ signature crepes. The person with the winning recipe will receive a $500 gift card to use on menu offerings, which include fresh smoothies, espresso beverages, organic teas and other flaky French pastries.
The Boulder location at 2273 31st Street is slated to open October 3. Another cafe will follow in December, inside the new Limelight Boulder hotel at 1295 University Avenue. Next year, two to three cafes will be launched in Denver.
“We're just getting started, honey," McQueen concludes. "Ain’t no one can stop us.”
The first Crepe Therapy Cafe location on the Front Range will open at 2273 31st Street in Boulder in early October. Learn more at crepetherapycafe.com.
