Farmers Market staple to open permanent location

Co-Town Crepes is opening a permanent location at the Magnolia Market Silos, 601 Webster Ave. Owner, Courtney Rogers, is shown here in the trailer in which she'll be preparing crepes. Photo credit: Trey Honeycutt

By Lauren Friederman, Reporter

With the opening of Co-Town Crepe’s new food trailer, crepe lovers don’t have to wait until Saturday to satisfy their cravings.

Co-Town Crepes, a staple at the Waco’s Downtown Farmers Market, is opening a permanent location at the Magnolia Market Silos, 601 Webster Ave, in mid to late October, according to Courtney Rogers, Co-Town owner.

The new location will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.on Friday and Saturday.

The Magnolia Market location will feature new menu items, Rogers said. Possible additions to the menu include house-made chips and salsa, Texas caviar, hash raspberry chipotle aioli and more.

“We want a fairly narrow menu because we really believe in doing a few things well,” Rogers said. “We don’t want anything that we do to just be okay or mediocre.”

Southlake sophomore Lacey Signorelli said she loves Co-Town Crepes because she said they are better than the crepes she’s had at breakfast restaurants.

“I look forward to its opening,” Signorelli said. “It’s a new breakfast place to go.”

In her earlier years, Rogers worked in various restaurants in Waco, finding her inspiration from Chef Juanita Barrientos who formerly worked at The Epicurean Chef.

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The Co-Town booth at the Farmers Market will provide both sweet and savory options for crepes made to order. Seasonal crepes incorporate the fruits and vegetables in season. Photo credit: Courtesy of Nancy Magaña

“Even though I was just a waitress or I just worked the counter, I would always be in the kitchen just learning stuff from her,” Rogers said. “I already kinda loved food, but she really fueled that. I’ve learned so much from her.”

Rogers fell in love with crepes on a trip to Tunisia and North Africa. After that, she started eating them frequently and began trying to make them, she said.

Rogers said she started selling her crepes at the farmers market in November 2011. At that time, Co-town Crepes was something Rogers operated on the side while attending school, she said. Now her modest crepe business has become a full-time job for her.

Rogers, a former teacher, quit her teaching job to manage Co-Town Crepes. Starting her own small food business has been a learning experience, she said.

“I’ve learned a ton,” Rogers said. “Whether it’s about business, or food service or just trying to figure out how to give people a consistent product. And how we market ourselves well. Every aspect of it has been a learning process.”

Rogers said opening a food trailer has presented a new challenge, but she’s had some help from members of the Waco community.

“It’s been fun, I think I definitely couldn’t have done it without the help of the other food truck owners,” Rogers said. “Even the health department has been really kind and answered lots of questions.”

Rogers said she hopes Co-Town Crepes can become a Waco staple.

“Our vision for our business is that we love Waco and that we really want to create a place where people can come and eat good food,” Rogers said. “We believe that good food fosters community and building relationships.”

For more information about Co-Town Crepes, check out their website.