French-inspired crêpe shop opens in Troy

Oh Crêpe, located at 79 Foss Way in Troy, is a business J.D. Winteregg wanted to start for roughly 20 years after studying and teaching in France.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, he took extra time to plan out his idea with his friend and now business partner, Seth Middleton.

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Oh Crêpe, which opened in early August, is a French-inspired crêpe shop featuring sweet crêpes, pastries, coffee and gelato. The business partners with other local businesses including Purebred Coffee and Farmhouse Bakery to elevate customer experience.

Winteregg said he is planning to expand the menu in the fall to include savory crêpes and baguette sandwiches.

He told Dayton.com he fell in love with French when he was a student at Northmont High School. In college he double majored in International Business and French. He said he studied abroad for a semester and then proceeded to teach in France.

“I want people to feel what I felt eating this and talking to people,” Winteregg said. “There (is) a saying, ‘Americans live to work and French people work to live,’ (the) idea that you slow yourself down, look at life, get to know people, get to know what you’re eating...”

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Winteregg has taken that idea and created a crêpe shop where people can get a taste of the French culture. For example, the walls are inspired by the rooftops he saw every day when he lived in Burgundy, France.

If you haven’t had a crêpe before, Winteregg described it as “a very thin pancake with simple ingredients that is best eaten hot.”

He particularly uses a recipe from a family he befriended in France.

Oh Crêpe’s menu features traditional crêpes that include sugar and sugar with lemon. The shop also has crêpes with strawberries, bananas, hazelnut spread, Biscoff spread and cinnamon spread.

“I just missed the fact that I could get a crêpe at any time,” Winteregg said.

Prior to opening the brick-and-mortar in the former location of Midtown Coffee & Creamery, Winteregg explained he tested the idea of having a crêpe shop by doing pop-up events at Pop-up at 4 W. Main in Troy. Winteregg said his crêpes were a hit and sold out.

He said he is looking forward to hosting various events at the shop to get people engaged in French culture. An upcoming event includes a French Table at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8 where people can come to learn and speak French.

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Winteregg told Dayton.com this is just the beginning for his French-inspired business. He said he has several other French-related ideas including franchising Oh Crêpe.

Oh Crêpe is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit Oh Crêpe’s Facebook page (@ohcrepetroy) or TikTok page (@ohcrepetroy).

About the Author