Naming their business after their Australian shepherd, owners Wanalee and Adam Gorelick opened Noe’s Crepes Coffee & Tea with one central idea: make good food they would want to eat themselves.

“I’ve been here in America for eight years, and I went to nursing school and ... realized that’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Wanalee said. “So [Adam] said, ‘Find something that you love to do.’ I love crepes, and he likes to cook, so I came home and told him that I want[ed] to open a crepe shop.”

One of the first businesses to open in the mixed-use retail center Marcel Commons, the eatery debuted for a soft opening in December and held its grand opening January.

“We’ve had a really nice welcoming from the neighborhoods around us—[residents] come in almost every day,” Wanalee said.

Recognizing customers might want more than just sweets, the couple said they expanded their concept to also include panini and soups as well as signature drinks, such as fresh-roasted coffee, chai tea and bubble teas that can be topped with cotton candy.

Wanalee said her current favorite is the creme brulee, which features a freshly cooked crepe stuffed with custard, sprinkled with sugar and broiled with a hand torch to give the dish its signature crackle crust. 

The menu was designed by Adam. While Noe’s has a wide selection of unique crepe creations, he said there are a number of savory options on the menu as well.

“There’s only so many sweet crepes you can eat,” Adam said.

The couple said one of the eatery’s best sellers is the breakfast crepe, which is made with scrambled eggs, mild cheddar cheese and high-quality bacon with the option to add avocado. Wanalee said she makes multiple shopping trips for the eatery each week, as all the ingredients used are fresh and never frozen.

“I used to work in a restaurant where they used frozen food, and you could tell. I told myself that if we ever own our own restaurant, we want everything fresh,” she said. “You won’t see many restaurants that don’t have a freezer, but we 100 percent don’t have any frozen food at all.”

In addition to crepes, Noe’s also offers a selection of breakfast and lunch options, including salads, soups and signature paninis, such as the smoked salmon and the croque madame. Wanalee said the eatery also plans to have monthly specials offering a new crepe and soup option each month.

Adam said as the business grows, they hope to expand evening hours for customers visiting the surrounding retailers to grab food as well as morning hours for commuters to stop in and get a cup of coffee. He said the shop uses only local, freshly roasted coffee beans to make each drink.

“We view our coffee not as a commodity but as something that you can enjoy, kind of like wine,” Adam said. “All the coffee we have is in the peak of its freshness within two to three weeks of its roast date.”

In addition to the restaurant’s house coffee, he said customers can order nitro cold-brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccinos, cortados, flat whites, lattes and frozen frappes, among other drinks.

The couple said they hope their commitment to fresh ingredients helps them stand out in the new center as more businesses open around them.

“We love good food. I’m from Thailand, and everything there is cooked fresh,” Wanalee said. “For Adam, everything that comes out of his kitchen has to be the best quality and the best taste, so everything has to be the best we can find.”

Noe’s Crepes Coffee & Tea 295 Enclave Drive, Ste. 200, Conroe 832-429-2929 www.facebook.com/noescrepes Hours: Sun.-Sat. 7 a.m.-7 p.m.