When Saad Jallad came from Athens, Greece, to AU in 2000, he brought with him a family recipe for crepes. After graduating from AU in 2003, Jallad's family recipe led him to start his own crepe restaurant called Crepeaway, located here in D.C.
Jallad's crepe service began as an unofficial business. During his years at AU, Jallad turned his Berkshires apartment on Massachusetts Avenue into a regular late-night snack stop for friends after a night of partying. In his apartment complex, Jallad said he also posted fliers and would deliver homemade crepe orders from 6 p.m. until midnight, foreshadowing the entrepreneur he would later become.
"I would get calls on my cell phone during class, and I would have to leave class to go home and make a couple of crepes along with the help of a few other AU students," Jallad said.
At the height of his small business success, however, Jallad said an AU business law professor told him his operation was illegal, forcing him to shut down his services. However, he said the experience taught him there was a real demand for crepes among students at AU and later started Crepeaway in D.C.
Jallad wanted to open Crepeaway in AU's campus tunnel, but after he was unable to obtain a permit from administrators at his alma mater, Jallad opened it instead near George Washington University's campus at 20th and L streets. Jallad said he spends at least half the day serving GWU students.
"The students liked that the crepes were made to order, mobile, savory or sweet and served hot right of the griddle," he said.
Crepes on campus
Jallad said he would still like to open a second location in AU's tunnel and has attempted to acquire a permit to start one up. He added that if AU accepts his proposition, he would keep the store open for night-owl students.
"I don't see a reason to close early unless the university forces us to," he said. "If AU gives me a permit to open up, then I would keep Crepeaway open."
Bringing Crepeaway to campus has proven difficult, however. Because there is no written policy on campus food, it is a difficult process to bring new restaurants on campus, said JoDe Norris, director of Auxiliary Services at AU.
"First, we have to find out what the students want and find something that will be popular because we don't want it to be a fad," Norris said.
To help with these difficult research decisions, Norris said AU is currently in the process of finding a consultant to question faculty and students about how to make campus food better. Until then, the university is holding off from bringing any new restaurants in, she said.
In January 2008, consultants will begin a three- to four-month research project to determine their options, including later evening hours for restaurants on campus - something Crepeaway has already taken to heart, as the restaurant reopens Friday and Saturday nights from midnight to 4 a.m. after closing at 9 p.m.
"Get your crepe on"
Despite the uncertainty of whether crepes will market well on campus, Jallad finds crepes to be beneficial and enjoyable for students. Crepes are known in Europe as a healthier alternative to fast-food, he said.
AU students could also be drawn to Crepeaway because of its international sentiment, Jallad said. By serving crepes fresh the way they are made overseas, his restaurant allows students to relive experiences they had while studying abroad, he said.
"It reminds me of when McDonald's opened up in Greece," he said. "It was such a big thing because it was new. It was a big hit, and we're doing the opposite here by bringing crepes from Europe to the U.S."
On Nov. 11, students can sample Crepeaway on campus at the Dance Marathon fundraising event in Mary Graydon Center. Crepes will be $5 each, and all the proceeds will go to the marathon, which supports the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Jewel Edwards, a junior in the School of Communication, who helped organize the event, said she chose Crepeaway to cater because it was consistently listed among the best dessert places in D.C. She says many students don't know about the restaurant because it is far from campus and it caters more to GWU students.
"I don't think there is a want [for crepes] now, but hopefully [Crepeaway] will come here," Edwards said.
