SEATTLE — It’s called La Rue and it's a teeny tiny creperie in Capitol Hill. But it wasn’t always a teeny tiny creperie… it used to be a teeny tiny storage space.
“It was a storage closet before we got here,” said Danae Alexander, one half of the couple who owns and runs La Rue. “We did it all ourselves.”
Working as a bartender and a chef, the couple got furloughed when the pandemic hit. But destiny stepped in right on time because this is when they heard about the opportunity and the empty space.
“So, like she said, it was kind of like a dusty old storage closet here. Boarded up, no windows or anything,” said Danae’s partner Alex Villa. “We pretty much cleaned the whole place up. And a lot of things we were doing we were doing for the first time like sanding down our butcher block. We had never really done that before. We watched YouTube videos and just kind of went with it.”
“YouTube was definitely a highlight of the summer,” Danae laughed.
What started as a DIY project is now a popping business, and Evening’s Ellen and intern Alex can attest to why.
“It’s perfect,” said intern Alex about the Nutella crepe. “It’s chocolatey, and then the strawberry… it’s perfect. What’s a French word for good? It’s parfait, magnifique!”
While the sweet crepes truly are delicious, the most popular items on the menu are savory.
“It's a really small menu, we have like about five crepes on the menu. It's a classic ham and cheese, which is super popular. And then I'd say right behind it is our ‘fun guy.’ It's the vegetarian one,” Alex explained. “So, it's got gourmet mushrooms — about like five or six types of gourmet mushrooms — with slow-cooked leek confit, and our shredded cheese all wrapped up in the crepe. And it's really savory and really umami, and I think that's probably one of our top ones.”
Ellen couldn’t help but exclaim “Sacre bleu!” when she tried the fun guy, shocked at how delicious the cheesy crepe tasted.
While Alex works the crepe stone, Danae mixes coffee drinks behind the bar — where she can’t help but get creative. Her most famous concoction? The charcoal latte called the ‘health goth.’
From closet to creperie, La Rue has been Danae and Alex’s baby from the beginning, and it’s still just the two of them making crepes and coffee every day!
“I think one of my favorite things is that it's just us working here,” Alex smiled. “The fact that Denae has made every drink that anyone has ever had from La Rue and that I've made every crepe that anyone has ever had from La Rue… It's definitely a warm feeling.”
La Rue Creperie and Espresso Bar is located at 1525 E. Olive Way Unit B-1 Seattle, WA 98122.
Hours: Wed.- Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. & Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Order online before pick up here.
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