The pizza and pita places on Marshall Street are about to have a new and somewhat foreign neighbor.

Justin McKeon is bringing a piece of Europe to Syracuse by opening a creperie on South Crouse Avenue, between AppaTHAIzing and Chuck’s, called What the Crepe?

‘They’re cheap, they’re versatile, fun and unique,’ McKeon said of crepes. ‘You can make them into anything.’

Anything is right; McKeon explained all the various things one could do with a crepe. For example, adding eggs to make a breakfast, or seafood for a classier dish. But don’t worry, there are alternatives for those who don’t love crepes. McKeon’s establishment will be serving scones and muffins in the mornings, and desserts, such as Rice Krispie treats, later in the day.

McKeon graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with degrees in television, radio and film and marketing. He was inspired to enter the crepe business when he was studying abroad in London. The street he lived on would come alive every Saturday with an open air market, which featured a crepe stand that never ceased to be busy.

When he got back to the United States, McKeon began to research the crepe business and found it was quite profitable on the west coast. Since he wasn’t ready to pursue a career, he made the creperie his dream and after some name suggestions, including Crepe Expectations, What the Crepe? was born.

What the Crepe? began as a partnership between McKeon and his friend, Adam Duke. As they started making plans, McKeon took most of the planning into his own hands and allowed Duke to concentrate on the culinary aspect of the business.

‘It’s always been my baby,’ McKeon said.

His baby or not, having to deal with zoning, loans, paperwork, accountants, taxes and renovating is making his dream a less than enjoyable experience.

‘It’s pure hell,’ said McKeon, ‘I feel like the world is against me most hours of the day.’

These issues also affect the opening of the business. McKeon hopes he can have the creperie up and running before the end of the semester but has encountered multiple setbacks in the process. He was planning to open Nov. 9, but is now shooting for Nov. 27.

McKeon hopes What the Crepe? will offer a new atmosphere to the SU community when it finally opens its doors.

‘I’m excited for it,’ said sophomore biology major Jess Toli. ‘It will be something different than what we are used to down there. I think it will definitely be beneficial and well-accepted on campus.’

McKeon thinks his establishment will be something different for SU students to experience. He plans to hang students’ artwork and embrace student talents by showcasing their work.

‘There is a lot of talent on this campus and I really want to embody that,’ he said.

After the renovating is complete, the next challenge McKeon will face is convincing people to come to ‘What the Crepe?’ and experience what it has to offer.

Sherry Holmes, the manager at Pita Pit, said unless there is a lot of publicity and advertisement for it, the creperie will have a tough time surviving.

‘It’s all about location down here,’ Holmes said. ‘I bet that 75 percent of people don’t even know that alley exists, unless you are of drinking age and can drink.’

But McKeon is doing what he can for advertising, including starting a Facebook group to spread the word around campus. No matter what happens, McKeon knows even though the majority of the work lays on him, he has a solid support system behind him, especially his mom.

‘My mom is amazing and I absolutely could not do this without her,’ McKeon said.

McKeon said while he has a lot of hopes for his business, he is really focusing and looking forward to working with the university and convincing the campus to embrace his creperie.

‘I have really high expectations and I have put a lot of work into this,’ McKeon said. ‘I just hope that university accepts it.’

For more info: Whatthecrepe.com

Published on November 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm