When Johann Tremor first arrived in Chattanooga, he was greeted by a familiar sight: the Eiffel Tower. Only this one wasn’t soaring 1,000 feet above the Champ de Mars in Paris; it was a scaled-down version standing outside a little crêperie on East Main Street.
“I’m in Tennessee, and I see an Eiffel Tower,” recalls Tremor, who was born and raised in Paris. “There was this immediate pull. At the time, I didn’t know how meaningful it would become, but now it makes sense.”
That small iron landmark stands in front of Adelle’s Crêperie, a cozy French-inspired eatery that has been a beloved Main Street spot for nearly a decade. Today, however, Adelle’s is much more than a place for sweet crêpes – it’s also a hub of authentic French cuisine in a city not particularly known for it, thanks to a partnership between Tremor, a baker and chef, and Ken Pritchard, the crêperie’s co-owner and local entrepreneur.
Together, they’re bringing a little bit of Paris to Chattanooga.
From Paris to Miami – and beyond
The story of Tremor’s journey to Tennessee is as layered as one of his buttery croissants. Born and raised in Paris, he first moved to Miami, where he spent 12 years working in the hospitality industry. Though he started out waiting tables at a French restaurant, Tremor’s real passion was baking.
Before the pandemic hit, he was preparing to open a bakery inside a historic boutique hotel in Miami. But when COVID-19 forced the hotel to close, Tremor pivoted.
“I purchased a food trailer and started cooking behind the hotel. People could grab breakfast in the morning, even though all the businesses were shut down.”
It was during that time that a friend from Chattanooga discovered Tremor’s talent. “He tried a baguette and fell in love with it,” Tremor says. “After a few months of coming every single day, he told me about an opportunity in Chattanooga to open a bakery.”
Without even visiting the city, Tremor took the leap. In 2022, he packed up his wife and two daughters and moved north, drawn by the promise of lower costs and new possibilities.
Adelle’s: a crêperie with heart
The building at 400 East Main Street had its own history long before it became a home for French cuisine. In 2007, Pritchard and his wife, Carla, purchased the empty warehouse and began the slow work of transforming it. After weathering the challenges of the recession, they gradually developed the space and filled it with tenants.
They even carved out an apartment for themselves upstairs, turning the once-vacant structure into a vibrant, lived-in part of the Main Street community.
The crêperie wasn’t part of the original plan. But when the Pritchards’ daughter, Adelle, then 12 years old and hooked on cooking shows, insisted they open a restaurant, they gave in.
“We thought it would give her an introduction to the business world,” Pritchard laughs. “We figured it would last a few months, then we’d close it and bring in a tenant.”
Nine years later, Adelle’s Crêperie had become a fixture of the neighborhood, serving not only sweet and savory crêpes adapted for American tastes but also acting as an event venue under the name The Granfalloon. Though Adelle has since moved on to study politics in Washington, D.C., the restaurant endured – mainly because the community loved it.
Meeting of minds, palates
When Tremor and Pritchard first met at a French Chamber of Commerce gathering in Chattanooga, culinarily sparks flew. “I remember Johann walking in with an armload of bread,” Pritchard recalls. “He was very impactful. I wondered, ‘Who’s that?’”
For Tremor, it was a natural fit. “We were two entrepreneurs looking for another adventure,” he says.
Within a month of meeting, the two men were talking business. A month later, they held a soft opening for Adelle’s Restaurant – a transformation of the crêperie space into something more purely French.
“Adelle’s Crêperie over the years had adapted to the American market,” Pritchard explains. “A crêpe in France is much more delicate, much simpler. But here, people want something filling. With Adelle’s Restaurant, we’re going the other way. We’re offering very simple, very classic French cuisine – no fusion, no modification, no deconstruction.”
That means escargot, despite Pritchard’s initial hesitation. “I tried to encourage Johann to keep it off the menu because I thought it was almost too French, too classic,” he admits. “But he put it on there.”
Simple dishes, rich memories
One of the most popular items on the menu is the Gratin Dauphinois: thinly sliced potatoes baked with gruyère, parmesan, smoked bacon and saucisse de porc, served with mushroom sauce and chimichurri.
At first, Tremor tried a different dish, but he kept thinking about his grandmother’s gratin. “It’s what I used to eat every Sunday at home,” he says. “It’s very simple. It’s the little things you put together. When you add the mushroom sauce, it’s delicious.”
When Pritchard tasted it, the dish triggered a flood of memories.
“Growing up, we spent a lot of time in Normandy with close family friends, and the host mother would always make Gratin Dauphinois,” he explains. “I hadn’t had it for years. And then Johann gave it to me one day, and I was like, ‘Oh my word. It’s been 40 years, but I’m remembering eating this wonderful dish.’”
For Tremor, that’s what cooking is about.
“I didn’t go to culinary school,” he says. “But I’ve always had a passion to cook. It’s all about bringing the tastiest food and using the freshest ingredients. It’s easy to get caught up in going fast, but actually, you have to take your time. There are many steps. You have to think about the details.”
A French corner in Chattanooga
Part of Tremor’s dream is to create the kind of food culture he grew up with in Paris – where a bakery is never more than a short walk away.
“In Paris, you walk down the street from your apartment, and there’s a bakery on every corner,” he says. “That’s what I was missing the most when I came here.”
To fill that gap, Tremor and the friend he met in Florida are working to open a bakery down the street at East Main and Central, in the former Miss Griffin’s Footlong Hot Dogs space. The project is moving slowly, as the building is old and in need of extensive renovation, with an opening timeline estimated at eight to 12 months.
In the meantime, Adelle’s is evolving into a full French culinary experience: crêpes, classic dishes and – soon – fresh bread. For Pritchard, it’s about more than food; it’s about creating a space where people can linger, talk and savor life.
“We don’t necessarily have that ‘third place’ in Chattanooga,” Pritchard says, referring to the social spaces between work and home that are central to European cultures.
“In France, it’s normally a bistro or café; in England, it’s a pub. That’s something I’ve always looked for in Chattanooga. So, seeing our customers linger, enjoy conversation, have a glass of wine – it’s a step in that direction.”