Sweet smells of Belgian street carts drifted through the Provo air as many lined up for a taste of authentic Belgian waffles.
The Awful Waffle, a brand new student owned-restaurant located at 815 N. 700 East, had its grand opening event Friday. The shop specializes in Belgian waffles and crepes, and features a 150-year-old Belgian waffle recipe made with sugar pearls in yeast dough.
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Many may wonder why the couple would choose to name their business “Awful.” Owner Ashley Wakefield said choosing the name was a journey.
“We started out with a simple, classy French name, but it wasn’t sitting well with us,” she said. “We wanted a conversation piece for our name, as well as a name that would be almost impossible to forget, athough clearly, we don’t think our waffles are awful.”
Provo Mayor John Curtis had a chance to stop by opening day and said he liked the new restaurant.
“This is the real deal,” he said on his blog. “Recipes and equipment all from Belgium. Make sure you check out the waffle grill that Lance carried on his back on the Belgium meto. I let them order for me and I was served the best crepe I’ve ever had. I give it four stars and wish them the best.”
Belgian waffles and crepes seem to be an emerging trend in restaurants.
“Quick and inexpensive, with French cachet but not French snobbery,” said Brent Thorn about crepes in Nation’s Restaurant News Magazine. “These thin, versatile pancakes can be savory or sweet, hand-held or eaten with a knife and fork, and served for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.”
The grand opening attracted so much business that by the end of the night, The Awful Waffle had run out of supplies and some were sent home waffle-less.
“We found an incredible location so everything just seemed to fall into place,” Wakefield said of the shop, located just south of BYU campus. “We couldn’t not do it.”
