Numerous are the restaurants that are reinventing themselves during shelter-in-place, Crenn Restaurants group is no exception. The group has just announced that Petit Crenn, located on Hayes St, will be converted into an “epicerie“.
Indeed, Petit Crenn remained closed during shelter-in-place and reopened its doors on June 9th for take out. They offer light dishes called “Petit Nosh” that you can preorder on line here, or order on the spot. In addition, Dominique Crenn decided to implement a gourmet grocery shop concept, with the preoccupation to bring to s larger number of people, the organic and sustainably farmed products of her farm Bleu Belle Farm.
Why are you opening Epicerie Crenn?
We have been very fortunate to have been able to create Crenn Kits throughout shelter-in-place. These are comforting meals that you can take home, heat up, and plate however you’s like. We realized that providing food for people to bring into their homes during this time was something truly beautiful. And we thought that being able to take home provisions – oils, vinegars, jams, pickles – instead of just one meal was an exciting step forward. Petit Crenn is perfectly situated in Hayes Valley for people to place an order online and then pop up in and pick up what they need. It felt like a beautiful evolution of what we started at the beginning of the crisis.
Is there an other trigger than the Covid crisis?
Obviously, Covid has changed the world and the restaurant industry in particular. But we’ve been thinking about ways of opening up to a larger public for some time now. We had our pastry pop-ups last year, we’ve started selling Juan Contreras’ gorgeous chocolate boxes… so selling provisions isn’t a new idea to us but right now seemed like the right time to launch because we want people to be able to have delicious food in their homes.
When are you planning to open Epicerie Crenn?
We have already placed a few items for sale on Petit Crenn Tock page, so people can already go ahead and pre-order their goods and reserve a time to pick them up.
Is it a permanent move ? Will Petit Crenn restaurant re-open when shelter in place is over?
I don’t think anyone knows what’s permanent right now! But this is what we are excited about for the foreseeable future. Like all restaurants, we’re waiting to see how the current Covid situation evolves. But we’re very excited about these goods and being able to send a little bit of Crenn Dining Group into people’s homes.
What type of products will you offer?
Please take a look at our website. We have delicious homemade jams, pickles, trout rillette, caviar, wine, coffee… good things to stock your pantry with from our farm!
Will you have more than food and drinks?
We know of a few great books by Chef Dominique Crenn that we’d love people to pick up and take home… for now, we are focusing on food and drinks, but we are open to the idea of providing more. We want to see how it evolves organically and gage the public’s interest in our epicerie.
Will you deliver?
We deliver Crenn Kits each week to members of our population the most in need, and will continue to do so (you can help be a part of this by purchasing a Crenn Kit for donation on Tock). But for the general public, we are doing curbside only for now.
Check out both Atelier Crenn and Petit Crenn Tock for curbside pickup of Crenn Kits, Crenn Kits Luxe, Petit Nosh (our brunch-like bites), and Epicerie Crenn.
Any other Crenn restaurants announcement?
Like everyone, we are looking forward to the day when we can welcome guests back in and take care of them like family. We want to thank our wonderful community that has been so supportive of us and hope that you’ll continue to enjoy meals and provisions from us in your homes.
Atelier Crenn dining room is reopening on July 14th, and you can start making your reservations…
