Chicana combines culture, crepes Former server turns sweet hobby into hot new spot

ALONDRA MONTES-MARTINEZ NEWS EDITOR

While there are plenty of locations that serve crepes, P.S. I Crepe You located on Magnolia Ave. has now become a designated crepe spot.

The owner Patricia Rodallegas was born and raised in Orange County before moving to the Inland Empire with her brother shortly after the passing of her mother at the age of 14.

Rodallegas is a Riverside City College alumni who ultimately stepped out to become a realtor.

Rodallegas isn’t new to the food industry. Before getting her real estate license in 2017, she served in many different restaurants.

Her restaurant experience is what ultimately led her to pursue her own business.

“Most of my family is in the food service industry. So it’s always kind of been there” she said.

Once she married she moved to High Desert for about seven years when her husband’s job relocated him.

During the pandemic, she and her husband became very concerned over what this might mean for her family. They had to take immediate action to secure their families future during these trying times.

“During Covid when everything happened, you know, it was very scary,” Rodallegas said.

“Jobs were willing to lay people off for different reasons”

Together they made the tough decision to sell their house in the High Desert and move back to Riverside.

After a trip to Las Vegas, the couple stopped by Lola’s, a well known cafe in the area. Rodallega fell in love with the ambiance and design.

“I told my husband I want to bring something like that back home. It was just an idea that stuck with us,” she said.

When they returned home they began making some for fun with their kids.

It was then that Rodallegas had the idea to take the money that they made from selling their home and invest their sweet hobby into a business.The couple was now faced with a choice; buy a new home and work to pay off the payments or build something for themselves.

Rodallegas and her husband moved back to Riverside and began their journey in opening P.S. I Crepe You. As of now they are currently living with their inlaws while their business picks up.

The road to their business wasn’t always sweet. As first generation business owners, they didn’t have many people to rely on when it came to handling the technical business side of the process, but they made due with what they had.

“We’ve had to figure it out ourselves. We made a lot of mistakes, but that’s just what it is, you know. We kind of figured it out ourselves and we’ve learned from those mistakes,” Rodallegas said.

In the beginning of their constructions they were faced with several obstacles that slowed down the grand opening.

The team of workers that were initially hired unfortunately didn’t meet the couple’s standards and they ended up terminating their original plans and starting anew.

“We just thought ‘Oh my god we’re never gonna be able to open,’” Rodallegas said. “It was actually a year of trying to open (the restaurant).”

Despite the struggle and major unforeseen changes, they kept going despite long days. Rodallegas and her team were able to push through because of hard work, dedication and the assistance from the City of Riverside.

Deciding on the theme wasn’t a challenge for Rodallegas. She knew that she wanted to have a cute vibrant place that people could walk into.

“Pink is considered a happy color so I want people to feel happiness and warmth when they come in,” she said.

The menu has a large variety of crepes that also incorporates a touch of traditional Mexican recipes.

Despite the struggles that they went through, their kids were the main source of inspiration.

“We have our kids that are looking at us, we have to keep pushing to show them through it all we have to keep pushing.”

Rodallegas and her team wish to expand more in the future. Rodallegas hopes P.S. I Crepe You can run itself so she can sit back and relax with her family.