Emily Buckley, editor in chief

The locally iconic restaurant, The Crêpery, began in 2009 in a small four-foot-by-eight-foot booth inside another locally owned coffee shop, Citrus and Sage. It was equipped with only a small griddle and four mini refrigerators when it opened.

Owners, Gabriel and Brooke Anderson, studied at Utah State University before moving to New York City to chase their dreams. When the recession hit, they returned to USU for graduate school.

“We were in the process of adopting our oldest child and needed employment,” Brooke said. “So, we risked it all.”

Gabe, who holds a MSFA in Industrial Design, had studied abroad in France and had a vision of Parisian-style crepes in a coffee-shop style atmosphere in Logan. The crepes and the cool style the couple created was successfully accepted by the community, and within two years they moved The Crêpery from their corner in Citrus and Sage to a renovated pizza delivery shop on Logan’s South Main Street, along the Logan River. Last year, they made another big move to the heart of downtown Logan, at 25 West Center Street – the place they feel they can really call home, complete with a 20-foot concrete table that Gabe built and designed himself. The Andersons have also expanded The Crêpery chain to St. George and Provo.

In recent years, the couple has moved back to New York City to develop their furniture and interior design business, Gabriel Dean Design, which is carried in upscale Manhattan showrooms, and features one-of-a-kind stonework as well as detailed wood and metal inlay pieces.

Although Brooke and Gabriel have moved away from Cache Valley, the area still holds a piece of their hearts, “We have truly pursued the American dream,’” Brooke said. “And Logan is the place that started it all for us. The potential that is held in that small community is enough to give you all the tools to make it anywhere.”

The Andersons adopted all three of their children, Penelope, Tucker, and Wolfgang, while living in Logan. “It is such a hospitable place,” Brooke said. “We went through the hardest things of our life there, and we would never have been able to afford to launch our business or get the community support we received any other place. People surrounded and rallied around us. It is one of the neatest communities and whenever we come back, to check on the business or teach classes, we are inspired by the people.”

Brooke said that when they look for interns to work with their business in New York they often look to Utah State. “USU grads are the most qualified,” Brooke said. “The interior design program there doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It is an unbelievable program.”

Brooke says sometimes, when these recent grads or students come to work with them they under talk how fabulous Logan is. “I just want them to know what an amazing community they are coming from,” Brooke said. “We did know it was special. It was tough to leave, and we are so glad we still have roots there. There is just something special about Cache Valley.”