She spent years dreaming about crepes. After turning 60, she turned her dreams into reality.
In Other News #24 // Celebrating the stories of everyday heroes among us.
It was a rainy Friday night in May of 2022. Spring felt more like winter, as the temperature dipped to 35 degrees.
Despite the conditions outside, Lori Mitchell had all the right ingredients inside Gettysburg’s newest restaurant. Within 15 minutes of her Facebook post announcing Cottage Creperie’s doors were opening, the first customers filled every table.
It might sound like instant success, but it was a dream Mitchell had planned and nurtured for about 30 years.
California dreamin’
“I experienced crepes for the first time in San Francisco, at a little French cart down by the waterfront—I had a strawberry banana Nutella crepe,” Mitchell says. “That was around 30 years ago, and I have loved crepes ever since.”
The memory of that day inspired Michell to learn the fine art of crepe making. Similar to pancakes—but much thinner—crepes typically envelope delicious fillings that are either sweet or savory. Michell took crepe-making classes in New York, Lancaster, and even at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She did plenty of “research,” sampling crepes throughout her travels in Europe, including the birthplace of crepes—France.
“I spent years waiting for the perfect place,” said Mitchell, who owned and/or managed several New Jersey restaurants during her career. After falling in love with Gettysburg, Pa., she bought a house there in 2004. By 2011, she made the historic town her full-time home.
If Mitchell’s name sounds familiar, it might be because you’ve taken one of her popular Savor Gettysburg Food Tours. She founded and ran the entrepreneurial business for a dozen years—through December of 2024. Annually, she averaged 120 tours, guiding a dozen or more tour-goers at-a-time, through Gettysburg’s restaurants to enjoy highlight dishes.
Still, she had always dreamt of a little café of her own, where she could add crepes to Gettysburg’s thriving restaurant scene. When the longtime Sunset Ice Cream Parlor closed at 33 Steinwehr Avenue, Mitchell knew it was the perfect spot—a sweet spot on Steinwehr—to give rise to Cottage Creperie. She had already built a lifetime of experience and skills through her career in the hospitality industry, and she was ready for her next chapter—as she crossed over the age of 60.
“Crepes are something that I love, that I’m truly passionate about, and it just so happened to be an untapped market in Gettysburg, so it’s a win-win,” Mitchell says.
Local ties
Her first stab at a menu was four pages long. Gettysburg-area chef and friend Fabio Carella helped Mitchell fine-tune those ideas, into her best sweet and savory flavor combinations. Meantime, her daughter Erin designed Cottage Creperie’s logo.
Next, Mitchell assembled a long lineup of Gettysburg-area partners to fill her crepes with the freshest Adams County ingredients including eggs from Weikert’s Egg Farm, and additional farm-fresh produce and products from Rettland Farms, Maggie’s Farm, Mud College Farm, Charming Meadows, Three Springs Farm, Heritage Farm, Deer Run Farm, and Harvest Barn.
“Representing local agriculture is near and dear to my heart,” says Mitchell, who decorated the restaurant with photographs of her farm partners. She’s known many of them for years, either as a former Adams County Farmers’ Association board member, or through her position with The Gleaning Project of South Central Pennsylvania, which rescues unused produce from area farms and distributes it to those in need, under the umbrella of South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP).
A happy business
Stepping inside Cottage Creperie is a treat for all the senses. Strains of French café music play, and delicious baking scents waft through the small shop. Part of the fun, once you’ve chosen a crepe from the menu, is watching Mitchell—or her staff—create it right in front of your eyes.
First, she expertly pours batter onto a crepe maker—like a giant round griddle—then expertly wields a wooden batter spreader. Next, she flips the thin pancake so that it’s golden brown on both sides. Delicious fillings are added such as Mitchell’s own homemade lemon curd and fresh blueberries for the Lemon Blueberry Delight Crepe. Then, she deftly folds the crepe in half, and half again, sliding it onto a plate, sprinkling it with confectioners’ sugar or other toppings, and—voila!—presenting your very own delectable crepe. Tasting it? Magnifique!
Accompaniments include freshly-blended fruit smoothies or ice cream hailing from South Mountain Creamery—carrying on the tradition of hand-scooped ice cream at 33 Steinwehr. Fresh-brewed, locally-roasted coffee is a special blend crafted by Ugly Mug Café exclusively for Cottage Creperie.
Some of Cottage Creperie’s most popular crepes include Chicken Creamy Pesto, Caprese, This Little Piggy—all on the savory side; and for your sweet tooth—Lemon Blueberry Delight, Strawberries and Cream, and Strawberry Banana Nutella.
For Mitchell, the menu is ever-evolving. Three years after opening—just this spring—she added Petite Puff Pancakes to the menu, which she describes as “light, airy little pancakes made fresh-to-order.” Served in a set of 10, accompanied by your choice of syrups, fruit and other delicious toppings, she says they’re “delightfully unique.”
Whatever you order, it’s sure to include a blend of comfort food flavors that initially inspired Mitchell’s love of crepes.
“My first experience was altogether an amazing experience that created a great memory,” Mitchell says. “When you talk to people, they too can recall the first time they had a crepe—maybe in a small café in France, with coffee—they never forget.
But sometimes people also ask, ‘What is a crepe?’ And then they order for the first time—and it’s so nice that I’m now able to create that first experience for them, here in Gettysburg. It’s a happy business.”
Nature Nugget
A quick travel tip and photo, sharing incredible views, trails, or parks
You may be following the recent news stories about Dire Wolves’ return from extinction. The above photo is “not” a Dire Wolf. But the news reminded me of an incredible visit I took last winter, to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA. Located in Lancaster County, this nonprofit refuge has cared for wolves and wolf-dog mixes for nearly 40 years. I highly recommend a tour!
Luna Lens
Sharing a photo of my fluffy floofy dog Luna… because there’s plenty of fluff to go around.
Meantime, my “wolf” enjoyed lounging right along the edge of a flower bed this week, near the tulips. Not exactly a wolf in the wild, ha ha.
Comfort Corner
A great recipe, or a Spotify song. Comfort food or chill tunes. Maybe both.
Lori Mitchell’s homemade lemon curd is to die for. She says it’s easy to make, but it’s one thing I’ve never attempted. However, that’s about to change. I have bookmarked this recipe. Let’s give it a whirl!
There is something about the color yellow that instantly brightens my day and cheers me up. It’s a natural pick-me-up.
Be well—have a wonderful week ahead,
Karen