About the Client: Simply Crêpes
This case study examines how a restaurant brand strategy and market expansion campaign helped Simply Crêpes introduce an established restaurant brand to a new community while staying true to the family traditions that have defined the business for more than two decades.
Born from family traditions and a passion for creativity, Simply Crêpes has grown into a warm, welcoming restaurant brand centered on the art of the crêpe. Every dish is thoughtfully crafted from scratch by skilled kitchen staff using fresh ingredients. There are no frozen products, prepackaged sauces, or processed dressings. The result is an elevated dining experience that remains approachable, authentic, and rooted in genuine hospitality.
That same care extends beyond the menu. From the moment guests walk through the door, Simply Crêpes strives to make every person feel safe, welcomed, and special.
With roots in Rochester, New York, and an established Raleigh presence since opening its Lafayette Village location in 2012, Simply Crêpes partnered with Hummingbird Creative Group in 2025 as they prepared to open a second Raleigh restaurant. While the concept had already proven successful, introducing the brand to a new community required a thoughtful strategy that would connect with a different audience while preserving everything guests already loved about the Simply Crêpes experience.
This case study highlights how a strategy-first restaurant branding approach helped Simply Crêpes create a locally resonant identity, strengthen brand awareness, and generate momentum for a successful market expansion.
Branding Challenges for Restaurant Expansion
Simply Crêpes had already established a loyal following in Raleigh through exceptional hospitality, made-from-scratch food, and meaningful guest experiences. But opening a second location wasn’t simply about recreating what had worked before.
The new restaurant would serve a different community with its own demographics, lifestyles, and expectations. While Simply Crêpes already had a compelling story rooted in family heritage and authentic hospitality, that story needed to resonate with people who had never experienced the brand before.
As the team prepared for expansion, they recognized that introducing the restaurant to a new audience would require more than promoting a grand opening. It would require translating the heart of Simply Crêpes into an experience that felt immediately familiar, authentic, and welcoming to the surrounding community.
From Family Tradition to a Recognizable Restaurant Brand
The Heroux family took a leap of faith in 2003 when they recreated the Sunday brunch they loved and shared it with the world.
“My parents are actually co-founders of the business,” says Nichole Heroux Williams, Simply Crêpes Co-Owner and Marketing Director. “The two of them were the masterminds behind the brand, and my father is still currently working in the business. He’d worked for about 25 years in corporate America but had always wanted to own his own business.”
The restaurant reflects generations of family heritage.
“My father’s French Canadian, and he’d grown up on the farm in rural Quebec, Canada,” Williams explains. “His family were dairy farmers who also produced maple syrup as a passion project. So, pure maple syrup kind of bled through everyone’s blood.”
The inspiration stretched back even further.
Williams recalls that her great-great-grandmother always had crêpes waiting after long days spent working and playing outdoors. That same tradition continued throughout her own childhood.
“They’d eat crêpes and then slather them with maple syrup. Our breakfasts in the current day as I was growing up were also centered around the crêpe. The brand evolved from that.”
Growing Through Community
Simply Crêpes began as a small concession stand at a local ballpark. Just five months later, the family opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Today, the brand has grown to five locations—three in the Rochester, New York area and two in Raleigh, North Carolina.
That growth didn’t happen by accident.
“When we started, we only had dessert crêpes and coffee, some breakfast items,” Williams explains. “We listened to the community and evolved our menu, our brand, our footprint. We really listened, taking in their feedback.”
Customer surveys, conversations, and a willingness to adapt became part of the brand’s DNA.
“It’s always been important to us, and I think it’s what’s helped us grow from not knowing what we’re doing in the industry to being successful 23 years later.”
Community involvement extends beyond the dining room.
“We support the schools in the neighborhoods our businesses reside in,” Williams says. “Families and women are a huge population of our customer base. So we support micro and local organizations first and foremost, and then women-centric and family- and kids-centric organizations.”
For Simply Crêpes, listening to and investing in the community has shaped both the restaurant and the brand itself.
Building a Brand Where Hospitality Is the Standard
For Simply Crêpes, hospitality isn’t simply part of the customer experience—it defines the culture of the business.
As the company expanded, the Heroux family realized they couldn’t personally be present in every restaurant. Instead, they intentionally built systems to preserve the values that made the brand unique.
“Our culture is the most important piece to our business, and we realized that early on,” Williams explains.
The company even created a dedicated Culture Coach role to help maintain that consistency across locations.
“We’ve taken what we love about my mother’s hospitality, generosity, thoughtfulness and sincerity in working not just with our guests, but with our employees and our team members, and we encapsulated that into Simply Crêpes culture.”
Today, every manager and team member receives ongoing culture training designed to reinforce those values.
The team’s purpose is simple: make every person feel special.
Whether someone is joining the team or enjoying their first meal, Simply Crêpes strives to create an experience that reflects the warmth of the family behind the brand.
Guest Stories That Reveal the Impact of a Family Restaurant Brand
For Williams, the most meaningful measure of success isn’t found in sales numbers. It’s found in the memories guests create.
“I love when people get to share a moment that they had with their family in my store,” she says. “I love hearing the stories.”
Sometimes it’s a bridal shower. Sometimes it’s a favorite meal during pregnancy. Other times, it’s simply hearing how a family celebrated an important milestone together inside the restaurant.
“We’re providing value to people’s lives.”
One story continues to stand out.
“A mother came up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much.’ We’d helped her and her daughter through some of the most challenging times in their life.”
Williams pauses before adding:
“We’re doing something bigger than just slinging crêpes back here.”
These moments reflect the true impact of a family restaurant brand built on hospitality, care, and meaningful human connection.
Expanding Without Losing the Heart of the Brand
After more than two decades of growth, Simply Crêpes had refined far more than its menu. The family had built a culture centered on hospitality, community involvement, and creating meaningful experiences for every guest.
As they prepared to open a second Raleigh location, the challenge became introducing that culture to an entirely new audience. The goal wasn’t simply to attract guests on opening day—it was to create an authentic connection that honored Simply Crêpes’ heritage while making the brand feel at home in a new community.
Our Approach: Restaurant Brand Strategy for Market Expansion
As Simply Crêpes prepared to expand into a new Raleigh market, Hummingbird Creative Group developed a restaurant brand strategy designed to introduce the established brand to a new audience while remaining true to its roots.
At the center of the strategy was the “Bonjour Y’all” campaign. A creative concept that celebrated Simply Crêpes’ French heritage while embracing Southern hospitality, creating an immediately recognizable personality for the new location.
From there, Hummingbird translated the concept into a cohesive launch campaign that included visual identity development, grassroots marketing, social media strategy, influencer partnerships, podcast collaborations, media outreach, and a grand opening experience designed to turn first-time visitors into loyal brand advocates.
Every touchpoint worked together to tell one consistent story: introducing a beloved restaurant brand to a new community in a way that felt authentic, memorable, and locally relevant.
Results: Local Connection, Strong Awareness, Lasting Momentum
The “Bonjour Y’all” campaign gave Simply Crêpes an approachable identity that immediately resonated with the surrounding community. By connecting the restaurant’s French-inspired heritage with the warmth of Southern hospitality, the campaign created familiarity before guests ever walked through the doors.
Strategic influencer partnerships, podcast appearances, grassroots outreach, and media engagement amplified that message, generating strong organic awareness ahead of opening day.
Together, these efforts positioned Simply Crêpes as more than a new restaurant—they introduced it as a welcoming neighborhood destination and created momentum that continued well beyond the launch.
Why This Matters for Growing Restaurant Brands
For restaurant brands expanding into new markets, branding serves a practical purpose. It helps a new community quickly understand who you are, what makes your restaurant different, and why your experience is worth sharing.
This case study demonstrates how a strategy-first restaurant brand approach helps growing hospitality businesses:
- Introduce an established brand to a new market without losing its identity
- Build meaningful connections through authentic storytelling
- Create immediate brand recognition with a locally relevant campaign
- Generate community awareness and advocacy before opening day
- Translate a proven restaurant concept into a memorable local experience
Editor’s Note
Simply Crêpes partnered with Hummingbird Creative Group to build a locally resonant brand presence for its second Raleigh location. Through the “Bonjour Y’all” campaign, Hummingbird developed a restaurant brand strategy, creative campaign, and launch experience that connected Simply Crêpes’ French-inspired heritage with Southern hospitality. The collaboration helped introduce the restaurant to a new audience while preserving the warmth, authenticity, and family traditions that have defined the brand for more than two decades.
Read the full branding case study → Bonjour Y’all
Services Provided
Restaurant brand strategy, market expansion strategy, campaign development, creative concept development, visual identity, social media strategy, influencer marketing, grassroots marketing, public relations, grand opening strategy