Crêpes Choupette — the creperie that has won the hearts of Yale students — will soon return to campus, this time as a kiosk on the Broadway Triangle.
The Crêpes Choupette food cart closed in June after the city began enforcing new zoning regulations governing food vendors in the city. But now, owner Adil Chokairy plans to open a crepe stand by Dec. 1 on the parcel of land enclosed by Elm Street, Park Street and Broadway. The kiosk will function as a to-go eatery with longer hours and more dining options than the crepe cart was able to provide.
Chokairy, who currently only sells crepes out of his brick-and-mortar location on Whitney Avenue, said the stand allows Crêpes Choupette to return to serving crepes to its original customers: Yalies.
“When the cart couldn’t operate, I felt a bit disconnected from my first loyal customers, who are the students of Yale,” Chokairy said. “I feel super, super excited in being extremely close to everyone again.”
In addition to being closer to students, Chokairy will be seeing them for longer periods of time. The crepe kiosk will operate during breakfast, lunch and dinner, extending hours late into the night until 12 a.m., he said. These hours are significantly longer than those of the cart, which was only open during lunchtime.
But like the cart, Chokairy’s kiosk will sell both sweet and savory crepes, which will range from $4 to $8, depending on the customer’s choice of toppings. The stand will add hot drinks, such as coffee, cappuccinos, lattes and hot chocolate, to its repertoire of products. The wider array of food and drinks, as well as the longer hours, is feasible since Chokairy and his employees will be working in an enclosed kiosk, rather than on an exposed food cart, he said.
The stand will be permanently located on the Broadway Triangle, which is managed by University Properties — the Yale-owned real estate manager of many retail shops surrounding campus.
“Yale University Properties is delighted to expand our relationship with New Haven resident and entrepreneur, Adil Chokairy,” said Lauren Zucker, associate vice president for New Haven Affairs and University Properties, in an email to the News.
By working with local tenants such as Chokairy, she added that University Properties is committed to sustaining a “vibrant downtown” and supporting New Haven’s economic development.
Chokairy expressed gratitude and appreciation for University Properties and the broader Yale community’s trust in his product and concept.
“I’m extremely thankful to the opportunity Yale University has given me and am very thankful, as well, to my loyal friends and customers who are the Yalies: students and professors,” Chokairy said.
Local crepe enthusiast Roger Lopez ’18 said he is thankful, too, for the opportunity to again dine on crepes close to campus and for the diversification of retail options at The Shops at Yale on Broadway. Lopez added that he thinks Yale students will benefit from “the convenience of this new source of sweet and savory crepes.”
And purchasing crepes could become even more convenient if Chokairy gets his way at City Hall, as he is currently trying to negotiate with the city to bring his crepe cart back to where it started — at the corner of College and Wall Streets.
Chokairy started selling crepes from his tricycle-pulled cart in June 2014.
Myles Odermann | myles.odermann@yale.edu | @myles_odermann