Meet the Owner: Local Couple Behind the Crêpe Sensation

In a corner restaurant that has seen tremendous turnover of tenants in recent years, the afternoon snack crowd, evening dessert rush, and heavy weekend traffic are exactly the signs of life Ivan and Kim Albert are looking for in their new eatery, Sweet n’ Savory.

Located in Chandler Square on the corner of Main Street and West Broadway, Sweet n’ Savory opened shortly after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

“A lot of people haven’t made it here,” Ivan Albert said. “When we were first putting this together, nobody said it was a good idea. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for us, actually.”

If the Yelp reviews are any indication, Sweet n’ Savory is alive n’ kicking with mostly four- and five-star reviews. “Instant hit,” one reads. Another says: “The food is delicious, the atmosphere is comfy, and the service is friendly. This is a rare gem of a place.”

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Ivan said. “Six months in, we haven’t gotten anything negative.”

The couple, from Mt. Sinai, also owns three Ralph’s Italian Ice franchises, located in Port Jefferson, Riverhead and Greenport. Ivan is in his 17th year as a New York City firefighter, and Kim formerly owned a nail business but now focuses on bookkeeping and caring for the couple's two children.

The rice pudding recipes are based on Kim’s mother’s personal cookbook, and the crêpes were inspired by the couple’s trips to Paris, where they are sold by street vendors in much the same fashion as the hot dog trucks of New York City. It’s an idea they said they had been considering for two years, but the right location never materialized until now.

“We go out to dinner in Port Jefferson a lot,” Ivan said. “After two hours and we’re done with dinner, what do you do? We’re not bar people, but we’d come to a place like this.”

The foot traffic and word-of-mouth recommendation are working so well that the couple hasn’t even had to advertise.

“If we go to a great restaurant, I talk about it,” Ivan said. “I love to recommend a great place. So that’s what we said, it would be word of mouth. I just want it to speak for itself.”