Alaskan Crepe Escape

July 28, 2022 – Sweet or savory, the Alaskan Crepe Escape has everything from breakfast to lunch, dinner, or desert! The small stand with a big heart pumps out tons of crepes everyday! The business was recently bought by local Juneau lady Madelynne Mckeown who first started working at the Crepe Escape when she was 15!

“I’ve worked here nine years. 2019 was our best year by far and then of course we had some really chill summers and things really slowed down. Amanda (previous owner) let us stay open and we kept the vibe inside the shack super strong. This winter Amanda called me and she was like “ok, do you want to buy the shop?” and I said, “Ok!”.

Working here and having this as my first job I was really able to see how tourism affects locals. I was around a lot of local business owners growing up and it makes such a big impact whether the tourists are here versus not. And we know people off the ships really well now. It’s more than just making money, more than just a storefront, it’s a community and it’s really important.

If there weren't tourists and cruise ships coming in everyday during the season, downtown wouldn’t be utilized in the way that it is and it wouldn’t be thriving in the way that it is. I don’t think it would look nearly as nice without the amount of money we make from tourists. And also, where there are more people, more people will come. All of the other local businesses also have a large local customer base and it’s not just locals keeping them open. It’s a really healthy mix of both. I wish more people would come down during the summer because it’s so lively and fun. Especially in a post pandemic world, people want to meet new people and we have the opportunity to do that with tourism.”

- Madelynne Mckeown, Owner