Mickey Fathi always wanted his own restaurant, so when a location opened up in Westwood, he bought it without a second thought or a concrete plan. One week later, he decided that he was going to make crepes.
Fathi is the 28-year-old owner of Westwood’s Mon Amour Cafe, which opened in February. Mon Amour Cafe offers everything from the classic strawberry Nutella crepe to more original options such as the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup crepe or the filet mignon with blue cheese, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onion crepe.
Fathi worked in the restaurant industry for over 10 years, first as a busboy, then a waiter and finally a manager.
“I never thought to open up a creperie before, but I knew I wanted to do something sweet,” Fathi said. “And I had some friends who were recently in Paris and they talked a lot about crepes.”
To get inspired for his cafe, Fathi walked all around Westwood to explore the different types of food offered.
“I realized students didn’t have many options as far as quick, sweet things,” Fathi said. “I felt like a creperie would be a good addition to the village.”
Once he settled on crepes, Fathi brought in a specialist to show him how to make the French sweet. Fathi experimented with different recipes and created the menu himself.
His personal favorite is the s’mores crepe – a concoction of marshmallow cream, Nutella, cinnamon graham crackers, French vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and powdered sugar.
“It’s like camping without any of the setup,” Fathi said.
Mon Amour Cafe now offers macaroons, which are baked at night and rotate through 35 different flavors. Fathi’s current favorite is the seasonal pumpkin spice macaroon.
Fathi said Mon Amour Cafe keeps late hours to accommodate Bruins. The cafe’s earliest closing time is midnight, but it often stays open later.
“We never turn down customers,” Fathi said. “On Thursday you might get a rush at 11:50 (p.m.), so I’ll be here till 1:30 a.m. on those days.”
Although students are its main fare, Mon Amour Cafe is sometimes visited by celebrities as well.
“We had (Metta World Peace) from the Lakers,” Farthi said. “He practiced making crepes for all his friends one night here. We ended up making them for him.”
Fathi said seeing positive customer reactions is the most satisfying part of his job.
“It’s so rewarding to see students come in, happy that we’re here,” Fathi said. “’Mon amour’ means ‘my love’ in French. I wanted people to feel the love when they came in.”