Perfecting the recipe
New owner brings flair to Café C’est La Vie
Story & photos by Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
The words “under new ownership” can sometimes come as bad news as new owners often make sweeping, and not always positive, changes.
Not so at the charming C’est La Vie, a popular creperie purchased by Kaya Hubbard and Alex Perez last October.
“I’m trying to keep everything that was going well and just make tiny shifts,” Hubbard said. “I haven’t touched the main menu because [former owner] Penelope perfected it over the years. And I have two amazing chefs that have been here for two years and they really know what they are doing.”
Classic crepes include the The Forest, with sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, red bell pepper and Swiss cheese topped with a red bell pepper cream sauce; The Bay, with bay shrimp sautéed with butter, lemon and a Creole spice over melted cheddar and topped with a Creole cream sauce, diced tomato and green onion; and The Sunrise, with house-made fennel pork sausage and aged white cheddar topped with sour cream and green onion.
The soups and specials do change, though, like a recent popular combo: tomato thyme bisque served with a grilled cheese sandwich on ciabatta with cheddar, aged white cheddar and pesto.
Tea, a perfect partner for the mouthwatering pastries made fresh daily, has always been featured at the cafe. Hubbard has brought in a few new options, including Hello Garden tea, with flavors including Photosynthesis, made with rooibos, peppermint, spearmint, rosehip, ginger, rose, sunflower, calendula and osmanthus petals; and the Sunny Day, made with ginger, turmeric, carrot, beet, pineapple and calendula petals.
“I also just got in some teas from the Hobbs Tea Company,” Hubbard said. “They are all-natural and grown in Hawaii and even come in all-natural packaging.”
To add to the Parisian feel of the cafe, beer and wines round out the beverage menu.
Hubbard, originally from Seattle, moved to the Oregon Coast to be with her fiancé Alex, who is the brother of Tony Perez, the café’s other original owner.
“They wanted to keep it in the family, and I was joking that we should buy it,” Hubbard said. “The guys were fishing together a short time later and Tony said, ‘You really should do it.’ So, we did and it’s been totally fun.”
A job at the Side Door Café in Gleneden Beach prepared Hubbard for the purchase of the café.
“I started there as a hostess then started bartending and then was promoted to bar manager,” she said. “I learned a lot from [owner] Brook [Price] watching how she ran her business that has helped me run this one.”
Trusting her culinary staff has given Hubbard the bandwidth to play with the space.
“One of the only complaints I’ve gotten was about the chairs, so I replaced those with more comfortable ones. I also opened the space up a bit.”
Another non-food related addition to the business is vintage and pre-loved shoes and clothing.
“I started collecting with a girlfriend and wasn’t sure how it would go,” Hubbard said. “It turns out people love to get a pastry and a coffee and shop.”
With her background in the arts, Hubbard is excited to continue featuring art at the café.
“It’s like a studio where I sell coffee,” she said. “We’ve been changing the gallery every month and will be continuing with that. We do an artist reception the first Sunday evening of each new show. We serve snacks, wine and baked brie. We are hoping to do some happy hour evenings in the summer, too. We haven’t nailed that down yet but it's such a nice space and in walking distance for many locals and visitors.”
Café C’est La Vie is located at 8 Bella Beach Drive in Gleneden Beach and is open from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, go to thecafecestlavie.com or call 541-764-2828.