Crêpe Corner opened in late July 2020, in WBNA’s 1577 Westminster Street. Photo credit: Crêpe Corner.
WBNA welcomes Crêpe Corner to our very own 1577 Westminster Street! Owners Natacha Legein and Anthony Adagboyi took some time to tell us their story below, but we encourage all neighbors to get a taste of it yourselves by stopping by their French-rooted café.
Supporting local businesses is more important than ever; in the case of Crêpe Corner and its fresh, delicious, sweet-and-savory crepes, pastries, sandwiches, salads and more, you’ll be glad you did.
IMPORTANT NOTE: WBNA has learned that Natacha was hit by a vehicle and has suffered serious injuries. We ask neighbors & friends to PLEASE CONTINUE to support Crêpe Corner, which REMAINS OPEN and thriving even after Natacha’s terrible accident. This is a great way to support Natacha and her family at this time, but for those who want to do more, donate at their GoFundMe page. WBNA sends our love and healing thoughts to Natacha, Anthony and her family.
Photos above courtesy of Rod Mortier except when otherwise noted.
Meet Natacha and Anthony
Question: What is your connection to the foods you offer at Crêpe Corner?
Anthony and Natacha: Almost all the offerings are foods that Natacha grew up eating; recipes that she learned from her mom who’s an excellent baker and is the resident baker for Crêpe Corner. We expanded the menu to ensure that we had healthy options (we have a huge gluten-free and vegan selection), especially since we knew that we could do so and absolutely keep it all authentic and tasty. Authenticity is important to us; in addition, clean, healthy eating is a passion of ours which we like to see represented in the cafe. Of course we have options for everyone, including some of the heartiest sandwich and crêpe options.
Question: Tell us about your background, your home countries, and how you came to the United States. How did you come to open a crêperie?
Anthony and Natacha: Anthony is originally from Nigeria, and Natacha is from Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Being from Belgium and the DRC, Natacha grew up on French foods, made at home by mom or sampled during visits to cafes in Brussels where it’s tradition to take a pastry daily from all the wonderful cafés that dot the streets. Natacha and Anthony both come from the banking world, and met at work. Natacha left the bank 4 years ago to handle the daily affairs of the café, and Anthony just recently resigned his position as a Risk Manager with a local bank. While Anthony decided to move to the U.S. for school, Natacha moved here out of necessity; at that time she was living in the DRC, and was evacuated due to the political instability that engulfed that African country.
Question: Why did you choose to relocate your business to this neighborhood (West End/Federal Hill)?
Anthony and Natacha: We were looking for a new place for our business, the awesome folks at the WBNA got wind of our search, and voila! We definitely love that the neighborhood is so walkable! That struck us immediately, as well as just how friendly and welcoming the people were....there’s a palpable sense of community that’s hard to find. We’re thrilled with our decision to move here and can’t wait to meet as many residents as possible.
Question: What do you most want people to know about your restaurant/cafe?
Anthony and Natacha: It’s a real food place. We take food seriously (not ourselves 😊) and make almost everything from scratch, including our pesto, Nutella, and house sauces, which we will be bottling soon. We hope Crêpe Corner can be a feel-good food oasis where everyone is welcome and can connect over great food, French jazz and hopefully very soon, wine! We also just opened the backyard garden which we like to call Le Jardin Enchanté, an open air sitting area.
Question: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your story and that of Crepe Corner?
Anthony and Natacha: Raising kids on the autism spectrum, that’s a cause that’s close and dear to us. If anyone in the neighborhood has an engagement opportunity in that space we’ll be glad to be a part of it!
Crêpe Corner is open Tuesday through Friday, 6:30am until 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 4pm, and is closed Mondays. For more about this unique eatery, read The Providence Journal’s feature here.
SPECIAL THANKS FROM WBNA
WBNA extends a very special thank you to former board member Melissa Riley of Westcott Properties who went above and beyond in listing and showing the retail spaces at 1577 Westminster pro bono for well over a year, finding us excellent tenants for both sides of this ground floor retail space. In case you missed it, Pimental Hair Salon, which opened in late fall of 2019, is our tenant on the right side of 1577 Westminster Street.
Huge thanks also go to board members Cynthia Langlykke and Noel Sanchez for their assistance in dividing the space into two units, and to Eugenio Fernandez, Obed Papp, Paul Cotter and Melissa Riley (again) for their work on lease negotiations including Spanish translation.