Any opportunity to celebrate small businesses is worth seizing these days. So Elodie Habert is inviting the public to celebrate with her as she marks the first anniversary of the opening of Cocorico! Bakery & Café in Midtown. And one of the pieces of the party is the chance to win a great prize: a year’s worth of croissants.
This Sunday, Feb. 2, also happens to be La Chandeleur, the French National Crepe Day. So Habert decided to celebrate two things at once. On Sunday, Cocorico! will have its first crepe station, something customers have been asking Habert for. The station will make chocolate, lemon and caramel crepe (sweet only, no savory), with fresh whipped cream. The crepes are intended as a special birthday offering, but Habert says they could make a return appearance if demand warrants.
If that’s not enough incentive to get there early, the first 30 customers to visit Cocorico! on Sunday will receive a free piece of anniversary chocolate cake.
The former farmers market darling has a sun-dappled spot to sip and stay
And about that year of croissants — head to the Cocorico! Instagram page to enter to win the giveaway in all the typical ways (following and sharing). The winner will get one free croissant of their choice (plain, almond or ham-and-cheese) per week for 52 weeks. The catch, such as it is, is that you must show up in person once a week to redeem. You can’t do two one week and none of the next. Habert likes seeing her regular customers and wants the winner to be part of that community.
When she opened the cafe, Habert intentionally did not offer wi-fi because she wanted people to come in and talk to each other or sit and people-watch and read a book. “We did it!” she says of the success of the one year without wi-fi, and she intends to continue the social experiment. There are now French books (both in the French language and in English about French) for customers to read, and she says nearby office workers are seen having meetings over baguettes and croissants, talking instead of texting.
In addition to the first anniversary fete, Cocorico! will also help customers with their Valentine’s Day plans. Habert and her team have created a love-lock collective art piece on display at the cafe. Inspired by the Pont des Arts in Paris, the work of art is somewhere you can hang your own customized padlock with your name, a love message and the date you came in. Habert is from Toulouse — not Paris — so Cocorico! doesn’t sport an Eiffel Tower like you see in most French restaurants in the U.S. But given the Pont des Arts’ special connection to love, Habert decided to allow for a special dispensation for something Parisian for a limited time. “We are not changing our focus,” she promises.
On Feb. 11 and 12, Habert will host Amour & Art: A Valentine’s Date Night at Cocorico! with two intimate painting classes for couples, led by local painter Olga Alexeeva. The event includes a two-hour painting experience, a piece of art to bring home, a glass of prosecco per person, a French cheese platter for two with fresh baguette, a box of six macarons by Bijouxmac, a $10 Cocorico! Bakery & Café gift card, and a love lock to customize and add to the wall. Tickets are $175 per couple.
Finally, Cocorico! is joining 39 other local vendors to participate in Matryoshka Coffee’s Valentine’s coffee crawl. Habert is bringing back the Je T’Aime Latte, which includes house made Nutella syrup.
Crepes, croissants, Nutella and community? What’s not to celebrate?
