Crepes & Waffles

Crepes & Waffles is a Colombian restaurant chain whose identity is built around crêpes, waffles, ice cream, desserts, and café-style food. The business began in Bogotá on April 13, 1980, when two students from Colombia’s Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración developed the idea as a project and opened a small restaurant designed in the manner of a rustic French crêperie. Beatriz Fernández is identified as the company’s founder. The original concept combined a focused French-inspired menu with a casual restaurant format. Over time, the brand expanded beyond its initial Bogotá location and became one of Colombia’s largest restaurant chains. Its core offer includes both sweet and savory crêpes and waffles, supported by beverages, desserts, and dedicated ice-cream shops. This mix allows the brand to operate across several consumption occasions, including meals, snacks, coffee visits, and dessert purchases. Colombia remains the company’s principal market. The reference material lists restaurants and ice-cream shops in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Manizales, Medellín, Mosquera, Pereira, Santa Marta, Villavicencio, Cúcuta, and other Colombian locations. The same material describes the chain as the third-largest restaurant chain in Colombia, although the source does not provide a date or methodology for that ranking. Crepes & Waffles has also developed an international footprint. Locations are listed in Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil. Spain’s listed locations are in Madrid, while the Brazilian expansion reached São Paulo, described in the reference material as the site of the latest international restaurant opening. The international network is smaller than the Colombian base, but it demonstrates the portability of the brand’s French-inspired restaurant model across Latin American and selected European markets. The brand’s positioning is best understood as accessible, casual, and experience-oriented rather than as a narrowly specialized dessert outlet. Its restaurants and ice-cream shops extend the same visual and culinary identity into different formats. Publicly available reference material does not establish the company’s current ownership structure, financial performance, executive roster, legal entity structure, or precise present-day store count. Store figures cited in the source should therefore be treated as a historical or source-specific snapshot rather than a current operating total.

Crepes & Waffles originated in Bogotá, Colombia, from a project developed by two students of the Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración. On April 13, 1980, the founders opened the first location as a small, rustic French-style crêperie. Beatriz Fernández is identified as the founder in the available reference material. The initial format centered on crêpes and waffles, with a menu that included both sweet and savory preparations. As the business developed, it broadened its offer to include ice cream, desserts, and café-related products. The chain also created or operated dedicated ice-cream shops, giving it a retail format distinct from its full-service or casual restaurant locations. Expansion first established a substantial Colombian network. The cited restaurant listing includes major cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Santa Marta, Villavicencio, and Manizales, as well as additional locations or projects in other cities. The source characterizes Crepes & Waffles as Colombia’s third-largest restaurant chain, but does not specify the date or measurement used for that assessment. The company subsequently expanded internationally across Latin America and into Spain. The referenced network includes restaurants or ice-cream shops in Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil, together with restaurants in Madrid, Spain. São Paulo is identified as the location of the last international restaurant opening mentioned in the source. The resulting footprint combines a dominant Colombian presence with a smaller group of overseas markets. Available public material is insufficient to establish a complete corporate history, including ownership changes, detailed leadership succession, financial results, franchising arrangements, store openings by year, or the current number of operating sites. Consequently, the documented history is strongest for the company’s origin, original concept, Colombian growth, and international geographic expansion.

1. 1980First restaurant opens in Bogotá

   On April 13, the founders opened the first Crepes & Waffles restaurant in Bogotá in a small, rustic French crêperie style.

   Source
2. Expansion into international markets

   The chain expanded from Colombia into Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil. The source does not provide dates for each market entry.

   Source
3. São Paulo international opening

   São Paulo, Brazil, is identified in the reference material as the location of the latest international restaurant opening mentioned there.

   Source

French-inspired casual dining and dessert retail with an accessible, family-oriented restaurant format.

• Sweet crêpesMain dishes and desserts1980

  Sweet crêpes are one of the brand’s defining menu categories. They support both meal and dessert occasions and form part of the French-inspired identity established by the original Bogotá restaurant. The available source confirms the category but does not provide a complete current menu or ingredient list.

• Savory crêpesMain dishes1980

  Savory crêpes extend the concept beyond dessert into casual dining. They were part of the brand’s broad crêpe proposition and help distinguish the chain from a purely sweet-food or ice-cream retailer. Specific recipes and current menu names are not documented in the supplied references.

• WafflesMain dishes and desserts1980

  Waffles are a second central product category and are paired with crêpes in the company name and restaurant concept. They are offered within the chain’s casual restaurant and dessert-oriented format. The available reference material does not identify a particular waffle recipe as a single official flagship product.

• Ice creamDesserts

  Ice cream is an important extension of the brand’s dessert business. The source lists dedicated ice-cream shops alongside restaurants in Colombia and several international markets, indicating that the category has supported separate retail locations as well as restaurant consumption.

• Coffee and café beveragesBeverages

  Coffee and related café beverages are associated with the chain’s casual café positioning and complement its crêpe, waffle, and dessert offer. The supplied material identifies coffee as a typical product category but does not provide a detailed beverage menu.

1. Crepes & Waffles
2. Crepes & Waffles official website