Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan And Stacie McKaughan.
Hi Dan and Stacie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I (Dan) was in the Navy for 20 years, and the last duty station was in Monterey, CA. While there, we were members of the same church as Thierry Croquette, who, along with his business partner, Daniel Peron, owns the original Crepes of Brittany. Their store is located in the beautiful and tourist-packed Fisherman’s Wharf area on Monterey Bay. We ate at their shop all the time. It was one of our favorite spots in Monterey. We loved the food, the atmosphere, the ministry that it provided Thierry…We loved it all.
In 2016 I retired from the Navy and returned home to Montgomery. We are from here, graduated from Montgomery High School (high school sweethearts!), and our families are here. This is home to us.
I (Dan) worked with my dad and step mom in their construction business when we got back home. A far cry from military life. Then in 2023, Thierry came to visit us, and while staying with us, he made crepes in our kitchen. We forgot how good they were. All those great things that we loved about the food, the atmosphere, the ministry…all of it came flooding back. We looked at each other and said, “We need to share these.”
So we started the process with Daniel and Thierry. They were ready to expand their business, and we were willing to take that giant leap of faith to open a crepe restaurant in Montgomery.
After much prayer, blood, sweat, tears, and more prayer, we opened on December 11, 2024.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
They say that anything worth doing is worth doing right. And doing things right means there are going to be obstacles in the way. So of course, it hasn’t been the smoothest road getting to where we are, nor is it all rainbows and unicorns now.
We had the usual issues with construction delays (although Dennis Teague and his team and Denzac did a wonderful job!). We had intended to open the first part of October, then the week after Thanksgiving, but we finally opened on December 11, 2024. We understand this is all God’s timing for us. Not ours.
We had-and continue to have-the usual issues with finding and retaining quality help. We had a good team to get us launched, but they’ve all moved on to other things. The team we have now is a blessing. They seem truly dedicated to our mission of spreading joy. We know they’ll probably not be here forever, but we certainly appreciate them now.
Oh, yeah. The other biggest challenge? Convincing folks around here that crepes are in fact a breakfast food!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our work-our mission, more importantly-here at Crepes of Brittany is to spread joy. We want to spread joy one crepe, sandwich, pastry, or cup of coffee at a time. The world is hard. Life is hard. Come in to our store for a little break from all that. We pride ourselves on our delicious, freshly prepared food. But we also take pride in our friendly staff. We want to get to know our customers. We are part of the community.
We are known for our crepes. The owners of the Monterey, CA store are both French. Thierry is from Normandy, and Daniel is from Brittany (hence the name!). We make crepes the way they make crepes. And they know how to make crepes. What’s unique about our crepes is that we use different batters for our sweet and savory crepes. Our sweet crepes are what most people think of when they think of crepes. Thin little pancakes. Our savory crepes, on the other hand, are made with buckwheat flour (very traditional to Brittany, France). They cook up crispy and brown, and are great for the eggs, meats, cheeses, and vegetables.
I think what sets us apart most is that we care. We care about each customer and their experience. We care about what’s going on in their lives. We’ve made friends that we never would have made if not for this restaurant. It’s been a blessing to us.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
We don’t get down to Houston much. Traffic sucks. Construction sucks.
But there is good food. There’s the Astros – and the Texans – and the Rockets! There’s Numbers Nightclub for all of my (Dan’s) retro music needs.
Montgomery is not the same place it was when I (Dan) moved here in 1981. It’s not the same place it was when we graduated high school in 1992. It’s not even the same place it was 5 years ago. It’s growing. But despite all the growth, there is still a small-town feel about it. The people still know and care about each other. We hope that never goes away.
Pricing:
- Crepes – $7-$18
- Sandwiches – $14-$16
- Pastries – $3-$5
- Coffee drinks – $3-$7
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crepesofbrittanytx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crepesofbrittany_tx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crepesofbrittanytx
