Those Are Japanese Crepes Being Sold At Expanding T-swirl Crepes, Not French Crepes

For many consumers, most crepes are indistinguishable in nationality. They’re thin and grilled and tasty. But don’t say that to Jerry (whose given name was Jiantan) Lin, the chef-entrepreneur who founded T-swirl Crepe, in Flushing, New York in 2014, with his cousin Andy Lin, who is still involved in ownership but not operating it.

Lin, a Chinese-American immigrant, had been working on the line at a hibachi restaurant, but found himself, dreaming about making crepes. Leaving his job, he and his cousin bootstrapped their first T-swirl Crepe by raising $200,000, tapping their own money with family support, with no external investors.

“Crepes weren’t popular in the U.S. but they were in Asia,” Jerry Lin said, from his Astoria, Queens office. “I wanted to bring them to the American people, like ramen and sushi.”

The cousins opened their first T-swirl Crepe outpost in Flushing, Queens, a major hub for Asians. “Crepes were popular in Asian countries, so it was a natural audience,” Lin noted.

They called it T-swirl Crepe because the t stands for the spreader batter, and the swirl is the motion you make to spread the batter, he said.

A Japanese crepe restaurant, T-swirl Crepe, has been expanding at a healthy pace, combining franchising with company-owned growth.

In the nine years since opening, T-swirl Crepe has expanded to 33 locations, covering 14 states, with 11 company-owned and 22 franchised. It maintains a strong presence in his hometown New York City, with eight locations and thirteen throughout New York State.

But now there are outlets in a variety of places including Philadelphia, Houston, New Haven, Wichita and Fort Lee, N.J.

Though the franchising, which launched in 2015, enabled it to proliferate quickly, he still hasn’t obtained any venture capital or private equity funding. He was more interested in maintaining control over its quality than relinquishing it.

All franchisees come to its headquarters in New York City and spend a month, mastering kitchen training, and learning about quality and consistency.

Choosing the right franchisee is critical to its success. “I’m looking for people who have the same passion for crepes as I do,” he asserted.

Lin stresses that Japanese crepes are different than French crepes in two ways: 1) They are made with rice flour rather than wheat flour, 2) The crepe batter is spread across a hot pan using a T-shaped wooden crepe spreader.

“The result,” he said, “is a crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-insider texture that is naturally gluten-free and an excellent vehicle for fillings both sweet and savory.”

When he first launched T-swirl Crepe, most Americans weren’t familiar with that kind of crepe, except for natives of Japan and Taiwan. Lin set out on a marketing campaign to familiarize people with Japanese crepes via advertisements in local magazines, distributing fliers, and attending local food events.

But don’t most New Yorkers want their crepes served quickly and preparing them takes time? Lin doesn’t consider its concept “fast-food, but it offers swift service of prepared, made-to-order-meals.” Each location has an open kitchen, enabling customers to see how the crepes are prepared.

Each location varies in terms of how much revenue is derived from off-premises sales rather inside dining. In New York City, for example, Lin said that pick-up and delivery generate about 30% to 40% of sales.

And some of these locations are quite compact in square footage, others larger. The Chinatown, New York location is a mere 280 square feet with five seats, but the East Village location is 700-square feet with seating for 10 people. Outside of New York City, they tend to be 1,200 to 1,900 square feet.

Keeping them fresh for delivery purposes is imperative. “All crepes are made fresh and packed individually, first in a paper sleeve and then a plate sleeve, which ensures they remain fresh for consumption post-delivery,” Lin explained.

It may have catered to mostly an Asian audience at the outset, but now its clientele has expanded. “We don’t target any specific audience, including Asians anymore, but everybody,” he said.

Yelp reviews from customers were mostly positive. Evangelia from New York said she ordered the macha chocolate truffles crepes and her mom, the chicken teriyaki. They found them “light and crispy and super fresh,” and she noted the “rice flour” gave it a distinctive taste.

Many American fast-casual restaurant chains revolve around burgers, pizza and tacos, but Lin said, “We don’t fit in with any of those foods. We’re a category onto itself.”

And when do people dine on crepes? Lin said nearly any time of the day. They come in at 11 a.m. when it opens for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert.

Lin is very excited about expansion and expects in 2023 to open five more company-owned locations and five franchised so it could have 43 outlets by year’s end. Japanese-style crepes are clearly on the upswing.