An Aspen creperie owned by a James Beard-nominated chef will soon expand beyond the mountains into Boulder and Denver.
Chef Mawa McQueen opened her first location of The Crepe Shack in 2018, in a 300-square-foot space at the base of Snowmass Mountain. Five years later, she debuted a larger location in Aspen where she serves a famous, $148 caviar-stuffed crepe. McQueen is also the proprietor of Mawa’s Kitchen in Aspen, which recently earned a nod from Michelin and landed on its “recommended” Colorado restaurants list.
A native of Paris, France, McQueen has had a lifelong passion for crepes. Come July, she expects to open her third creperie on the ground floor of the Boulder Commons mixed-use development, at 2273 31st St., #140. Construction is currently underway there as McQueen also searches for a fourth location in Denver.
When the Boulder store comes online this summer, however, the business won’t be called The Crepe Shack. During Aspen’s upcoming offseason, McQueen plans to rebrand the eateries under the moniker Crepe Therapy as she prepares to break into the Front Range.
The name was inspired by former “Real Housewives of New York” star Bethenny Frankel, one of many famous faces to pass through the Aspen shack, who coined the term “crepe therapy” in a TikTok video chronicling her visit. McQueen said that phrase resonated with her.
“We started as a shack because of the location, how tiny it was. But it doesn’t reflect the quality of products that we’re using,” McQueen said. “We bring joy to the community and we want to be a community base.”
Specifically, she wants to be a hub for kids who don’t have many third spaces in Colorado where they can gather. McQueen said she is also considering bringing in therapists every once in a while to chat with young people and inspire them to get off of their devices.
The Crepe Therapy in Boulder will serve largely the same menu of sweet and savory crepes available in Aspen and Snowmass. While her signature caviar crepe and other upscale recipes won’t be available in the metro area, McQueen is developing a special Mile High Crepe that will only be served in Boulder and Denver.