One of Princeton’s most successful local food businesses, Jammin’ Crepes, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Nassau Street restaurant Oct. 15 through Oct. 20.
Jammin’ Crepes, which is owned by Princeton residents Amin Rizk, Kim Rizk, and Kathy Klockenbrink, began back in 2011 as a stand at the West Windsor Farmers Market. Kim Rizk, who was known as a local food expert at the time, trained in France as a chef and wrote the Hayday Country Market Cookbook.
The stand was a hit from the start. Customers lined up to enjoy the made-to-order sweet and savory crepes featuring micro-batch jams, homemade pickles, and other ingredients from local farms.
As the lines at farmers markets grew, the owners of Jammin’ Crepes knew they had a successful business to build on. They began their search for a brick-and-mortar location and chose 20 Nassau Street, where they created a cozy casual eatery that has become a favorite community gathering spot. In 2014 they added a food truck and in 2019 they took over the management of the cafe at the Princeton Public Library.
The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives featured the Jammin’ Crepes turkey club crepe and 20-layer orchard lemon crepe cake in a segment.
“It has been exciting to be a part of the small business community in Princeton, as business owners and as residents,” said Klockenbrink. “This creative and energetic community has welcomed us with open arms and supported us along the way. It is not just the small businesses in town, it is also our great team and friends, new and old, that have been there for us to help create and share our dream.”
The business successfully made it through the pandemic, pivoting quickly to offering online ordering and carry-out for customers. Jammin’ Crepes also survived a change in building ownership and the construction project for the Graduate Hotel.
“It’s been an exciting journey filled with challenges as well as many rewarding triumphs,” said Kim Rizk. “Most of all it’s been an enriching experience that reinforced for us the importance and power of teamwork and community.”
Anniversary events
The in-store anniversary celebration will feature tasting tables offering free samples of Jammin’ Crepes creations including their 20-layer pumpkin spice crepe cake, deep-dish apple cobbler, harvest apple jam, spicy apple chutney, roasted sweet potato hummus, pumpkin shortbread cookies and autumn mac n’ cheese.
The first 10 guests on each day of the celebration week who visit the eatery and wish them a happy anniversary will receive a “Golden Ticket” redeemable for a crepe of their choice.
On Oct. 19, kids can have their faces painted from noon to 4 p.m.