Today we’d like to introduce you to Saphir Grici.
Saphir, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I lived in Paris (France) 10 years before moving here 5 years ago. I met my wife (born and raised in Athens, GA) when I was living in Paris, she was studying for her Ph.D. French History and I was a financial advisor then. I am pretty sure she fell in love with my scooter first and then with me! When it became serious between us and I came to visit her in Georgia, I fell in love with Georgia, Athens, Atlanta and the people here. So, I decided to move here with her. Why a crepe food truck? After my master in History of art, I was an archeologist and worked for the restoration of art companies and traveled all over France.
And then after few years, I became a financial advisor in a bank in Paris. So, I wasn’t afraid to change again my professional life. I always wanted to create a business and I thought often ”food, this what makes me happy and make happy people all over the world. I traveled in 18 countries and food, the street food, the food that people eat was always on the top of my list in any country I visited, before monuments, shopping and anything else. The idea of a food truck came when I visited a friend in Californi and saw one of these trucks. Crepes, because I love them, I wanted to focus on just one thing and do it really well.
So, I went to a crepe school and came to the US with the knowledge. It was a lot of challenges (regulations, language, different culture, rules, etc.) I had to learn a lot to make it happened. Today, we have an excellent reputation in Athens (we won twice in a row favorite food truck by the votes of people, on Flagpole Magazine) and I believe it is not due just to the food (which is just the visible part of the iceberg), but the Philosophy of business and our mission: Create bridges between cultures and people. It is something extremely important for me and Holy Crepe is the symbol of it.
Has it been a smooth road?
The struggles were multiple and it wasn’t a smooth road for sure.
The health code was very challenging in Georgia comparatively to other states around and so it took me a long time to gather all the right information and bring the right circumstances together to make this truck happen.
The language barrier was pretty big too however my wife was very helpful and supportive through all the process and was with me at every meeting.
We still can’t have a real access to the downtown with our food truck in good location (foot traffic) which makes it challenging for us of course and so we had to find other ways to get to people (breweries, collaboration with other businesses (Jittery Joe’s Coffee, for example, Athens Running Company, Independent Baking company, allowing us to park on their private properties).
I made a lot of mistakes through the process but I believe this is also what made us stronger and more resilient today. I have the feeling that if we can make it in Athens, we can make it anywhere.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with holy crepe – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We make sweet and savory traditional recipe crepes with an American twist. Creating bridges between cultures and bringing people together is very important for us.
We love playing and having fun with our crepes, like for example:
– The Barbecrepe (White Tiger Pulled pork barbecue, fried egg cheddar)
– Ze French Elvis: peanut butter, banana, bacon
– The Crepe Dog: Hot dog rolled in a crepe with cheddar (A hit in breweries)
– The Creperoni: Pepperoni, Cheddar, Sauteed Mushroom, Jalapeno.
I think what makes us unique and different is our attitude, we are not traditional France, we are Daft Punk France. We bring a very high quality of service and food but with a fun street food attitude. We don’t take ourselves too seriously (Our motto is: ”Crepes Made by a real French Guy! )which is a contrast even more surprising when people try our food and are amazed, especially when they never had a crepe in their life.
The thing that I am the proudest of is the team working with us and the people we serve. I think both feel and understand exactly our purpose to make the world a little bit better every day through our brand. It took us two years to come down to a simple philosophy and a mission.
Mission: We create bridges between cultures and between people.
Philosophy:
1) Business is NOT business, it is human beings first.
2) Continuously grow personally AND professionally, it is not a choice, it’s both.
3) Love each other, the team, customers, collaborators, citizens, our planet.
4) In all decisions, have the courage of integrity and honesty.
5) Persevere, embrace failures, never give up.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I love about Atlanta, is we really feel it is growing and a lot is going on right now, in business, art, mentalities. And also, I love the fact that when you go up to one of the high buildings, you see Atlanta is very green, trees are everywhere.
What I don’t like: the traffic, I guess, I am not the only one.
Pricing:
- Savory crepes are $7 Sweet Crepes are $6
- We have catering formulas for less than $20 (sweet+savory+drinks+sides)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.holycrepeathens.com/
- Phone: 706-765-7087
- Email: holycrepefoodtruck@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holycrepeathens/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holycrepeathens
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
