Birth of a Franchise: Sofi's Crepes

Birth of a Franchise: Sofi's Crepes
Tags: Franchising & Growth, Independent Restaurant, Operations Management
May 18, 2009 - Valerie Killifer

One of Ann Costlow's best memories of eating a crepe stems from an experience she had on a cold day in Paris. Costlow was tired after an exhausting day of walking all over the city, so she stepped into a creperie for a bite.

"I thought it was the best thing I ever tasted in my whole life," she said.

When Costlow wanted to start her own business, her mind drifted back to that time in France, and she thought, "Why not crepes?"

Costlow went on to found Sofi's Crepes (named after her dog) in Baltimore, a concept she launched in 2004. Now, with the help of consultants at Francorp, she's hoping to expand her business through franchising.

While the success of many independent restaurants is due in large part to the personality of the owner, franchise experts say one of the components of a successful franchise is having a system that can be easily taught and replicated.

"I decided that probably it was a good idea to try and franchise, but I knew the shop had to be able to run on its own without me running it," Costlow said.

Several years ago, Costlow spent a summer as a galley cook on the ship The Pride of Baltimore, a reproduction of an 1812-era Baltimore Clipper privateer. Just as she was thinking about franchising Sofi's Crepes, she received a call asking if she wanted to return to the Pride for a one-month stint. Costlow looked at that as an opportunity to test if Sofi's could run without her.

"I thought that would be the perfect experience for me to leave the shop for a month and if they could make it, then I could probably franchise the business," she said. "I came back and everything was great and they ran it just fine without me."

So, Costlow went home and started to work on Sofi's operations manual. As part of laying out the manual, she was required to answer a list of questions such as, What is an average day like? How do you greet the customers? How do you prepare the recipes?

"It was very time consuming, and I did it on my couch with my laptop and dog by my side," Costlow said. "It was hours of reiterating the most minute details."

She became a legal franchisor in the state of Maryland in February 2009 and is looking to open her first franchise location in Annapolis.

"I would say I'm in the infancy stage right now," she said. "At this point, I'm the sole employee of the franchise company. One of my managers is going to help me. I'm hiring her to work in the Annapolis shop."

A little history

Costlow was married to a Frenchman and had spent a lot of time in Paris, where she said she was always struck by the crepes sold on almost every corner. Before opening Sofi's, she studied crepe varieties by traveling to New York, Philadelphia and Miami. She also attended Le Cordon Bleu in France for basic training while her shop was being built in the states.

Costlow's first location was a 150-square-foot room that was "literally a closet not being used," she said. It was located in Baltimore's theater district and therefore attracted an artistic crowd, although some education was required as to what crepes were.

"First, I posted the menu outside before we opened so people were getting to see what the menu was like," Costlow said. "I think the biggest learning curve for our clients was the fact we serve it in foil. We don't put it on a plate; you don't eat it with a fork and knife. It's like it is in Paris. We encourage people to eat it sort of like a burrito. In the beginning, everybody wanted a plate. And then people got used to it."

The challenges

Developing the operations manual initially seemed like a daunting task.

"It's overwhelming to get started," she said. "But I created (Sofi's), and I put it all together. I wasn't coming up with anything new; I was just reiterating everything that I knew."

Costlow said Sofi's serves maybe 1,000 crepes a week, and part of the design of the shop is customers are able to watch the crepes as they are being made.

"We have lines all the time at our shop, but there's something about being crammed into one of our shops," she said.

There also is limited or no indoor seating at the original location, although a second Sofi's in Baltimore features indoor seating.

"Crepes are so good when it's cold outside because they're hot and almost become a comfort food," she said. "And the nice thing about it is our footprint is so small we recommend space that is 400 to 600 square feet. Because it is such a small space, you can go into some of the higher rent districts and carve out a little space. Small is part of our charm."