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Reporter
The Baylor community doesn’t have to travel to Paris to get an authentic crepe anymore. Baylor Bears can simply visit Bullard junior Madeline Perkins’ food truck, Holy Crepe.
Holy Crepe, Perkins’ creation, makes dozens of different crepes. Prices range from $4.95 to $6.50.
“I decided Waco needed a get-away,” Perkins said. “What’s a better way to do that than to bring a little taste of Paris here?”
Perkins said she got the idea to start her own business while on a study-abroad trip in Europe. The experiences she encountered, especially with food, inspired her to take a leap and start the process.
“I studied abroad all summer in Europe, and everyone always ate a crepe, and that’s where I really fell in love,” Perkins said. “I immediately started looking for a truck when I got back to America on Aug. 1.”
Perkins said the process of starting the business was difficult, but after calling dozens of prospects, she found her truck. The truck went through a special renovation to better hold the crepe equipment, and opened for business on Oct. 11.
Holy Crepe’s ingredients and flavors are chosen the night before any home football game, and Perkins gets “runners” to grab the ingredients she’s missing that customers demand. She said this is the best way to ensure customers get the product they want.
Pasadena junior Grace Tabuena, one of the runners, said the process and variety in crepes have received a large amount of positive feedback.
“It’s so great to see how people respond to how we are doing,” Tabuena said.
This week Holy Crepe will be located off of Fifth Street, immediately following the Homecoming Parade, which starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Tabuena said the truck can usually be found on game days, in the student tailgating area of McLane Stadium.
Students at the tailgate seem to have responded positively to the change of scenery crepes provide in a sea of hot dogs and hamburgers.
“It’s awesome to have a different option, and it’ll be even better to have a warm crepe when it’s cold outside,” Dayton senior Mary Fielder said.
Perkins is one in a rising trend of young entrepreneurs across the nation.
In 2011, Harvard Business Review statistics stated that entrepreneurship has almost doubled within the last 15 years. The review said 26 percent of all entrepreneurs in America average between the ages of 20-34.
Besides the idea of entrepreneurship and being a part of the backbone of the nation’s future, Perkins said she also wanted to use the food truck as a vessel to share her Christian beliefs to her customers.
“I know I have something really sweet in my hands,” Perkins said. “I have a way to make people smile and a way to share the love of Jesus Christ”
Holy Crepe’s workers and owner are hoping to expand the business within the near future.
“I hope to set up at the farmer’s market and just find more venues to sell at,” Perkins said.
Perkins’ advice to other students wishing to start a business is to be creative and go for it.
“Just try to make a difference,” Perkins said. “The opportunities are endless. You just have to pick the one that’s best for you.”
