Jack & Rachel Byrne

Jack and Rachel Byrne traveled the world together, working along the way in restaurant kitchens from Belgium to Thailand, before choosing Charleston, S.C., as the place to set up a small crêpe business in 1998. The pair bought a vending cart and set up The Crepe Stand on a bustling street corner, armed with two camp stoves and two household crêpe pans. With their hand-rolled crêpes filled with savory and sweet fillings—from grilled chicken, bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella to chocolate with toasted coconut—the stand was a hit from the beginning. In 2000, the couple expanded their presence into area farmers’ markets, events and specialty catering, and in 2007, they launched their first retail products—Charleston Crêpe Mix and a made-to-order 25 layer Crêpe Cake. In 2009, the two unveiled a sister company, Holy City Chocolate, and began handcrafting artisanal chocolate products, including a hot chocolate mix, roasted pecan toffee and peanut toffee. Their mixes, dark hot chocolate and toffees are carried in Whole Foods Markets and many other specialty stores, and their 25-layer crepe cake is available online and at select shops.

The Byrnes shared more of their story with us:

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What was your inspiration for starting Charleston Crepe Company and Holy City Chocolate?

We have always been passionate about food—so much so that we spent our 20s and early 30s traveling the world and working in kitchens in different countries. We couldn't get enough of all of the different customs and cultures that revolve around food in the various locales. In Thailand, we watched a street cart vendor pound out small balls of dough into flat disks and fill them with bananas. With one bite, we were inspired! We finally planted ourselves in Charleston because we loved the European charm of the city, and our crepe cart was born.

What is the most satisfying or challenging part of your job?

The most satisfying part of our job is most definitely hearing the positive feedback from our customers. We are incredibly lucky to have such loyal customers that embrace every new product we introduce. The most challenging aspect would be that we are never ‘off.’ When you are small business owners and married, it’s tough sometimes to mentally ‘check-out’ of the business.

If someone could shadow you for one day at your job, what would surprise that person most?

People are surprised that we still make everything in small batches and by hand. For instance, our 25-layer crepe cakes are a true labor of love. We make each of the crepes by hand on a well-seasoned crepe pan and then hand-layer the crepes with a light pastry cream. They are beautiful, but oh so time consuming! People may also get a good chuckle out of our decision to make chocolates in Charleston. If you have every visited our city you know that humidity resides here 12 months a year!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a pathologist and Jack a pilot. 

Aside from your products, what three food items can you always find in your kitchen?

Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter & homemade Irish Brown Bread (Jack is from Dublin, Ireland, and this is his power breakfast before farmers’ markets), good beer and brownies topped with our toffee crumbles. —Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.

1 comment

SunnySaves Yum, the best crepes around!