Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Painter.
Hi Kristen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It was a long time coming, I just didn’t know it! I spent time growing up in Europe as part of a military family and the crepes you get from stands on the streets were my absolute favorite. When we moved back to the States, you couldn’t find anything like it unless you went to a restaurant and then they were all fancy and plated and whip-creamed — nothing like what I had in mind as “crepes.”
Years and years later I wanted my own kids to have these so I started making them at home. Finally Nutella had made it’s way to the states and was readily available. Then my husband and I began hosting parties at our house as a school district fundraiser and people raved about them. Every year, for about 8 years, our guests would often ask if I’ve ever thought about doing crepes as a business. At that time I was a VP of a division of a publishing company in Boston so traveled every week and couldn’t imagine starting a business.
In 2019, I decided the travel and stress of that job was creating a pattern of just letting life pass me by, I made a big decision. I decided to launch The Fold. I gave my notice and agreed to stay on for 5 more months and during that time, I did all the groundwork to launch by September 2019. I’ve had zero regrets!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like I mentioned, I had five months of planning while I completed my last job so that helped me to not feel as if I wasn’t “unemployed” at all.
I was able to jump from my job to the new business. However, as everyone experienced, the pandemic hit and things slowed down but people got creative and began doing outdoor, distanced gatherings that were perfect for food trucks. I actually think this helped me get rolling with opportunities.
I do think the biggest challenge logistically has been the trailer. I didn’t anticipate the learning curve for pulling a large custom crepe trailer — I think I’m finally getting pretty good at it now though!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Fold ?
The Fold is a nod toward the fact that the street crepes I love are folded, not rolled.
Street crepes are folded into a wrapper that allows you to walk away with a crepe meant to be eaten on the move — just like in Europe. This is why The Fold works so well as a vendor at markets and neighborhood parties.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the history of St. Louis. When we aren’t working, we walk the different neighborhoods of St. Louis and visit the shops and restaurants of the area. We meet a lot of great people and learn a lot about our community.
Moving to St. Louis years ago, I immediately was struck by the tight divisions of race, class, and religion. I want to be part of breaking that down.
Pricing:
- Pricing was a big consideration in starting the business, obviously. It was important to me that we take the “fancy” out of crepes and think of them as street food. So, there’s no reason a Nutella crepe needs to be $12. We charge $5. You’ll find all our crepes reasonably, considerably priced.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@thefold-stl.com
- Website: Www.thefold-stl.com
- Instagram: @Thefoldstl
- Facebook: Thefoldstl
Image Credits
Bryan Painter and Abbey Painter
