CrêpeWorx | Winchester, Virginia

Unique and Delicious – You’ve Never Seen Crepes Quite Like These

Article By: Bonnie Williamson
Photos By: Josh Triggs

Most people think of a crepe as a desert made from a thin pastry that’s usually folded into a little log or triangle and filled with fruit, chocolate or other sweet ingredients. Well, CrêpeWorx in Winchester, Va. has taken that “little desert” into a whole new level that’s both surprising and delicious.

My husband Stephen and I were anticipating those little desert crepes as we walked to CrêpeWorx, located at 158 N. Loudoun St. on the Old Walking Mall, in the pouring rain.

When we entered the restaurant, it was a bright spot on a soggy, drab day. It’s a small, cozy place, seating about 30 people with additional seats outside, weather permitting. There is also a small lunch counter. We were greeted by the owner Tony Might. Might said he has nine employees.

“They are all trained cooks,” Might said. “People are surprised that their server also does the cooking. We want our customers to feel like they’re visiting a family friend when they come here. It’s a comfortable place. We want you to enjoy yourself.”

Might let us watch as he began making our crepes. He made one at a time. The crepe starts out taking up the entire bottom of a frying pan, resembling a large pancake. That’s just the beginning. Might refers to the crepes as a “blank canvass.” “Customers can build their own crepe by choosing the ingredients they want added,” Might said.

The crepes fall into three categories: breakfast crepes (which are served all day); savory crepes and sweet crepes. In the savory crepe category, Might said one of the most popular choices is the Mediterranean, consisting of shredded chicken, tomato, Mozzarella, roasted red pepper and pesto cream. That was my husband’s choice. Other popular savory crepes are To Brie or Not to Brie, which has shredded chicken, sautéed onion, cranberries, French brie and Dijon Cranberry sauce; and I Don’t Give a Fig, which has shredded chicken but it’s in a local fi g spread, crispy bacon, sautéed onion and bleu cheese.

I went for a breakfast crepe called Sunrise. It has a choice of meat (sausage, bacon, ham, Taco meat or smoked salmon. I picked sausage), a scrambled egg, tomato, cheddar cheese and avocado cream. A popular breakfast crepe is the Home Run: your choice of meat, hash browns, scramble egg and Chipotle cream.

In the sweet crepe category, Might said the Nutty Monkey is a customer favorite. It’s stuffed with banana, peanut butter and Nutella. Several other sweet crepes on the menu include Apple Streusel, baked apple, White House Apple Butter, and the house crumb topping; and Blondie, made of creamy butterscotch, vanilla custard, and the house crumb topping.

As we were served our meals, Stephen and I stared at our plates in shock. The idea of a little crepe went right out the window since each of our crepes was a rectangle that covered the entire plate. Mike laughed at our reaction.

“People don’t think of crepes as being quite that large,” he said. “I had one customer order two crepes for takeout, and he said, ‘They’re enormous.’”

However, despite their size, they were incredibly light, almost fluffy and very flavorful. Stephen grinned at me and said, “These give me a reason to come to Winchester.” We’re from out of town, and I’m sure Winchester has plenty of other attractions, but those crepes were memorable.

“Tell your friends,” Might said. “We get most of our new customers because we’ve been recommended by regular customers. It’s word of mouth promotion.”

The crepes range in price from $7.75 to $8.75.

CrêpeWorx has other things on the menu besides those wonderful crepes. The soup of the day, salads like the Parisian, consisting of baby spinach, crumbled feta, sliced almonds and cranberries tossed in the house vinaigrette and fries like Guiltless Sweet Potato fries served with Kosher salt, black pepper or cinnamon sugar, are also available.

Might said CrêpeWorx wants to make good food, fast. The meats and cheeses are sliced in-house, fresh produce is used and all sauces are made on site.

Might said the restaurant offers on-site catering for private events like weddings, picnics and corporate events. Events packages include the Silver Package, $13 per guest (15-19 people), each attending guest will be served one crepe; the Gold Package, $17 per guest (15-19 people), each guest at the event will get two crepes and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages; and the Platinum Package, $21 per guest (15-19 people), unlimited crepes with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

The restaurant is available for private parties Monday through Thursdays evenings when it would be closed to the general public for such an event. Might said he can even set up and make crepes in a private home for a party. He also wants to encourage local artists to hang their works in the restaurant.

CrêpeWorx opened in November 2015. The son of Robert and Sara, Might said he was first exposed to crepes when his dad took him to Sofi’s Crepes in Baltimore, Md. “I loved Reuben crepes,” he said. “I had them at Sofi’s.”

Might majored in general studies at Northern Virginia Community College, then went to work at different restaurants for the next ten years. He worked in an IT business with his dad for a while, “but it wasn’t my passion. I also didn’t like working in restaurant chains because you worked all the time. There was no time to spend with family.” His dad convinced him to try running his own restaurant.

“He told me to do something I want to do and love,” Might said. Might said CrêpeWorx is the only restaurant in the area that specializes in crepes.

“We’re unique,” he said. He adds that things keep getting better and better. He hopes to have a dinner menu in May, in addition to having beer and wine available.

CrêpeWorx is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 540-686-7481.