Handheld Crepes and Burgers Are on the Menu at This Downtown Eatery

The co-owners of the recently opened EQ Crepe & Burger Bar, at 1517 Wynkoop Street near Union Station, want you to know that they take crepes seriously.

Cousins Kris Lamlika and Nils Gjoca have been around crepes for almost two decades. In their home country of Albania, their uncle started a small crepe shop fifteen years ago to capitalize on the rising popularity of the treat. “It was a Greek effect because they started to develop crepes in their own way, not the French way, but more handheld — not like those fancy restaurants that have forks and knives,” says Lamlika. “We were the first, largest crepe shop. It was really busy when we first opened; we didn’t expect that crepes would be so popular in Albania. But it blew up, so then we opened the second one, then the third one.”

It was always a dream for the cousins to open up a crepe shop in the U.S. In 2018, Lamlika and his younger brother visited Gjoca, who lives in Omaha and works as an analyst for a hospital. They scouted possible locations and decided to lease a stall at a local food hall, calling the venture Sofra Creperie (“sofra” means "table" in Albanian and the word has connotations of being welcomed to join at the table).

In order to appeal to their customer base, "we had to do a little bit bigger crepes...and the menu had to adapt to American customers — more ingredients inside, and more complex crepes,” says Lamlika, pointing to a lox crepe. “In Albania, we do that without cucumbers, without tomatoes.” The team also had the challenge of introducing customers to the idea of triangular crepes that are meant to be held like a sandwich.
Because the crepes are made to order, they require more technique and a fast worker. “Rush hour is fifty to one hundred tickets and you maybe have six plates that are really hot," explains Lamlika. "If you take more than thirty seconds to one minute cooking the crepe and putting on all the ingredients, it’s burned, it’s ruined.” The griddles need to be kept at a temperature that’s hot enough to keep the process speedy and warm up the fillings, but cool enough that it gives workers the optimal amount of time to pour, turn, fill and fold each crepe.

Sofra Creperie operated from 2019 to 2023, but the cousins found it hard to find skilled labor in Omaha and ultimately decided to close the stall and scout other markets, including Denver.

“We like the whole street here because it connects the two stadiums — Ball Arena and Coors Field,” says Lamlika. “Also, when we were visiting, we saw a lot of people moving in this area here" — although he admits that observation has not entirely translated into high foot traffic, citing the high number of empty downtown offices.

In mid-2023, the team began the grueling, bureaucratic process of building a restaurant in downtown Denver. Lamlika describes mountains of paperwork, duplicative permits, faulty sub-contractors and the incessant drumbeat of time and rent payments. He sums it up plainly: “If I’ll do it again, I’ll not do it.”

After months of being behind schedule and over budget, EQ Burger and Crepe Bar (named in honor of the uncle who started the Albania crepe business and passed away during COVID) opened its doors in February.

Business was slow at first but steadily picked up as word of mouth spread. One point of confusion is the name: The cousins decided to add burgers to the menu to attract a lunch crowd, since many Americans still think of crepes as a breakfast or dessert dish. However, “many people think that it’s a crepe inside a burger or a burger inside a crepe, so we get that question asked a lot. ... We just serve burgers and crepes. Separately,” Lamlika says, laughing.

Now the orders are evenly split in volume between burgers, savory crepes and sweet crepes. The most popular dishes are the California breakfast crepe, with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, avocados, cheddar and bacon; the chicken pesto lunch crepe; and the classic burger. For dessert, “it’s Nutella crepe. Everywhere — Albania, Omaha and here — Nutella is the best seller,” Lamlika notes, adding that Nutella and banana is his personal favorite. He also recommends ordering crepes “Albania style" — extra-crispy with double-layered crepe dough.
The crepes at EQ not only look different than the French version, but taste different as well. The batter is tangier, almost like it has been fermented and leavened. “Secret. It’s a secret family recipe," Lamlika says with a smile. "We have been developing that recipe forever. ... We add a little bit of ingredients every time we test it out — experiment with different types of milk and the consistency of the dough. It’s been fifteen years developing that recipe.”

With simple dishes like the ones served at EQ, it's important that all the ingredients are fresh and high-quality. “Everything is housemade. We don’t buy anything. ... All the ketchup, mayo, sausage for the burgers — everything is housemade,” Lamlika notes.

EQ is so committed to fresh ingredients that it's unplugged its freezers, purchases mostly organic produce, and is looking into switching from Angus beef to grass-fed beef. It’s more expensive, but “when these [sales] reps from suppliers come to me and say, ‘Okay, you feel different but the customer will not,’ I say, ‘No, I feel the difference.' So it’s better to pay money now for better long-term,” Lamlika explains.

Guests at EQ are likely to see Lamlika and his younger brother behind the counter. “Albanians, we are known for micromanaging. We want everything to be as we like to do it, and I see some employees try to cut corners. I don’t want that. It’s a new business so I want to offer the best — the best quality for the food that we have. So that’s why we are always here,” says Lamlika. “I always, always want the customer to tell me how to improve. They’re too nice here. They need to be more critical," he concludes.

EQ Crepe & Burger Bar is located at 1517 Wynkoop Street and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit eqcolorado.com.