“We sat around and of course you think ‘what kind of French names and things,’” said Brian Freund, describing the moments he and his wife, Emily, tried coming up with a restaurant name.
They finally figured, why fight it.
“If we call it any of these names, they’re just going to say, ‘you know, that French place,’” he laughed.
So in 2015, the restaurant was born in Charlevoix.
“A classic recipe that any grandmother in Brittany is going to have,” he said.
Brittany is the northwest region of France.
Their dough authentic as can be, even down to the salt.
“This is grey sea salt from the coast of Brittany,” he said.
Then once it is mixed, it’s spread on the griddle, imported from France.
On a busy day they’ll make about 600, sliding them into these cones because crepes are street food in France.
“You have a beautiful view of Lake Charlevoix on either side of us, so you might as well go to the park and enjoy it,” said Brian. “There will be French people who come into our store and say ‘wow, I didn’t think I’d get a crepe like this in America.’”
That French Place is more than a crepery.
“We are a bakery a patisserie we make croissants,” Brian added.
It’s called a financier because it looks like a gold bar, it’s an almond cake, so it’s very buttery and very rich and one of my very favorite things,” he said.
It’s just one example of the many recipes they’ve perfected, directly from France.
“We try to go every year, we take cooking classes, it’s a tough job but we go around and we eat,” he smiled.
They even bring their employees.
“It’s nice to get ideas every single time we go, we are invigorated with lots of ideas so then we start trying things out and we are adding things to our menu every year,” said Brian.
But even with yearly trips to the Eiffel Tower, there’s no place like home at That French Place.
“We feel very lucky to be in this community, the community is very supportive and we cannot imagine being anywhere else,” he said.
You can find That French Place at 212 Bridge Street in Charlevoix, or call them at 231-437-6037.
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