On a cold Saturday morning, in the Glasshalfull lot in Carrboro, there is a pink food truck adorned with the sign Parlez-Vous Crepe. Next to it is a small wooden table surrounded by four wooden chairs. People sit with their dollar coffees in hand, bundled up in heavy coats and gloves — and waiting for their crepes.
Jody Argote, founder and owner of Parlez-Vous Crepe, stands in the truck, with an apron and a smile while handing out her customers’ orders.
Before Parlez-Vous Crepe, Argote lived in France and worked as a French professor. She came back to the United States equipped with the skills to make crepes and decided to open Parlez-Vous in Carrboro.
“This still involves French culture,” Argote said.
She now runs the food truck with her husband Tom and her daughter Aimee. Parlez-Vous serves savory crepes along with a crepe of the month. It also caters for events in its truck or through crepe stations.
Argote goes through an extensive preparation process to keep new customers coming back. Her work requires more hours of prep than it does actual selling.
“For every five hours in the truck, we have 10 to 12 hours of labor,” she said.
Preparation starts with involved shopping and making sure both the classic and gluten-free crepe batters are made fresh. The batters only have a shelf life of 48 hours. The Parlez-Vous team also preps the cheeses and toppings, makes its own spreads (such as its lemon creme), and of course cleans and sets up the truck.
“Our day can start as early as 5:30 a.m., and end as late as 11 p.m. or midnight,” Argote said.
When catering, Argote goes through a similar preparation process. However, catering differs from some of the conveniences of a food truck because setting up a catering area is more physically demanding than setting up the truck.
On the day of a catering event, one can usually find the Parlez-Vous team assembling chairs, tables and occasionally a crepe station or two.
On Saturday morning, Parlez-Vous had to delay opening by an hour. Weather is a common problem for the truck. To prevent their water from freezing during the winter, members of the Parlez-Vous team sometimes has to leave a heater on overnight.
When it gets too cold, Argote delays or doesn’t open the truck. Between August and September, the heat is a challenge and because of the screens in the truck, Parlez-Vous doesn’t have air conditioning.
“There is a lot of exposure to the elements,” Argote said.
But the food truck seems to be doing well, she said, selling on average about 350 crepes at larger venues, and 150 to 200 crepes per day at Glasshalfull.
The truck also brings in first time customers, like Edward Ralston who spotted the pink stand parked in Glasshalfull while walking out of a nearby bank.
“This is my first food truck ever,” Ralston said, while waiting for his crepes.
Having previously lived in France, Ralston said Parlez-Vous Crepe brings on a sense of nostalgia.
Ralston is one example of the importance of location.
Argote said there are many factors that play into where the truck sets up.
“I think about our target customer, find lots that have high visibility and ample space, and approach the owner,” she said.
The Glasshalfull wine bar and restaurant is locally off of South Greensboro Street.
Though Glasshalfull is usually closed when the truck is running on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., owner Jim Wald said a benefit of having Parlez-Vous in the lot gives them “a little bit of visibility.”
The other Carrboro space rented by Parlez-Vous is the parking lot of Johnny’s, a grocery store, bakery and coffee shop off of West Main Street in Carrboro.
“They’ve been renting the space since about 2007,” said Susan Siplon, who works at Johnny’s. “They have a real following.”
And that following also helps bring Johnny’s customers who grocery shop and purchase coffee while eating their crepes. Parlez-Vous is usually located there Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Argote has thought of moving into a standard restaurant, but sees her friends who work in the restaurants work extensively. Argote said she likes the freedom of changing locations.
And having a different set of customers she can interact with is the favorite part of her job, especially if she gets to practice her French on native speakers or students learning the language.
Despite the long hours and complications with the weather, Argote said she enjoys her family-run business. She said for her making crepes comes as a “natural thing.”
And the results are, naturally, pretty sweet.
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com
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