Gypsea Crepes: Japanese street food plus surfing equals fun family business

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Nakamuras’ love of Japanese street food combined with a love of the beach fuels a delicious recipe for a sweet and savory business.

Gypsea Crepes, 7012 Thomas Drive, opened March 1 next to Marcus’ Gulf Pizza & Delivery.

“All of the savory crepes are legend surfers’ names. We all surf — my kids and I, so we are going with that kind of theme,” said family patriarch Okato Nakamura, who added The Slater and The Duke are the most popular.

VIDEO: See Okato making The Slater >>

His entire family — daughter, Serena, 18; Kai, 16, and his wife, Elizabeth — have been involved at the restaurant, especially this past summer.

“On a busy day, we make 70 or 80 crepes,” Okato said.

When the Nakamuras aren’t at the restaurant, you might find them surfing at St. Andrews State Park. A picture of the “Rocks” at the state park hangs on the wall near the entrance by the giant world map, where customers can mark their hometown with a push pin. (My red one is just south of Houston, Texas.)

The Slater is named after World Surf League champion Kelly Slater, winner of the 2016 Andy Irons Commitment Award. The award is given during the Billabong Pro, where Slater posted a perfect 20 heat total on Wednesday morning in Tahiti. The late Duke Kahanamoku, was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming and popularized the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing.

“We just started doing the Andino and the Moniz, too,” Okato added.

The Slater starts with a crepe batter, made fresh daily, cooked to order at 400 degrees and layered on one side with sliced Brie, turkey, sliced Fuji apple, cranberries, spinach and house made honey mustard. Then it is folded in half, rolled up and placed in a cone-shaped wrapping — perfect for holding and eating, of course. The soft crepe is warm enough to melt the brie when it is rolled up. It was a savory experience for the senses with a little sweetness thrown in, as Bob Marley’s music played in the background.

The Duke features roast beef, cheddar, onion, tomato, spinach and Creole mustard.

“I really like the Andino right now, one of my favorites,” Serena said.

The Andino, which started out as a special before being added to the menu, is layered with ham, salami, provolone, spinach, tomato, onion and pesto. The new Moniz is a combination of turkey, provolone, spinach, tomato, onion and pesto.

“Three years ago we went back to Japan, where I’m from. Every time we go there, we go to crepe shops. This is street food in Japan. My kids love them. I looked at Serena and said, ‘We could do this,’” Okato said. “Plus, there’s nothing like this in Panama City, unique to the area.”

Okato, who graduated from Rutherford High School in 1993, moved to Panama City from Kawasaki, Japan, as a 16-year-old exchange student and went on to graduate from the culinary program at Gulf Coast in 1996. Most recently, he worked as a chef for the club at Tyndall Air Force Base for 10 years.

“Before that, I opened King Fish sushi Bar, and I was a sous chef at Treasure Island and Runaway Island — the old one on the beach,” he said.

Serena graduated in December from Mosley High School, where her brother just started his junior year.

“We started doing this at the St. Andrews Farmers Market, that’s where the gypsy part of the name came from and then we wanted to tie it into the beach,” she said.

The Miki Chicken — Thai chicken with peanut sauce, sriracha, cilantro, spinach, tomato and onion — was the first one the family sold at the farmers market. The beef version is Serena’s favorite savory crepe.

“They do one with prosciutto in Japan,” she added. “I love it.”

Other savory choices include The John John (ham, cheddar, spinach, tomato and mayo), The Eddie (ham, Brie, apple, spinach, onion, tomato, honey mustard), The Machado (chicken, cheddar, spinach, tomato, onion, mayo and sriracha).

In July, Gypsea Crepes prepared 100 crepes for the Medical Equipment 4 U and Bak-Pak Outreach benefit golf tournament using tuna dip from Chef Dee Brown of Dee’s Hang-Out and chicken salad from Triple J’s, which Okato said customers really enjoyed.

Last week, Okato made a crepe with a muffaletta spread for a restaurant special.

But when it comes to the sweet crepes, he didn’t need to reinvent a good thing.

“The sweet side is pretty basic in Japan — strawberries, banana, whipped cream and chocolate,” Okato said.

All sweet crepes are served with fresh whipped cream and homemade chocolate sauce and a choice of banana, strawberry, blueberry or raspberries — or a combination.

But he did add a few twists to his sweet crepes — such as cheesecake.

The sweet crepes refer to the number of fins on the bottom of the surfboard, with the Thruster having a tri-fin set-up. A single fin surfboard hangs on the wall above the bar.

Okato’s favorite crepe is the sweet Thruster: Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries with whipped cream and a slice of cheese cake, all drizzled with chocolate syrup.

“The whipped cream is fresh whipped cream. That’s like a piece of heaven right there,” he said.

Although I didn’t have room to dive right into another crepe, I had to get in a few bites before I could put it down. (But I admit I thought about it till I ate it a couple of hours later.)

“I really like to do Nutella and Nutella with ice cream and a scoop of fruit,” Serena said. “In Japan, they have green tea ice cream, but we only have vanilla right now.”

Nutella, Okato said, is popular with European customers.

Gysea’s savory crepes range from $6.99 to $7.99. The sweet crepes start at $4.99 to $6.99, with an additional $1.50 charge to add a slice of cheesecake or a scoop of ice cream. Nutella, yogurt and granola also can be substituted.

Crepes — eaten for breakfast, lunch or brunch — are so filling that most customers just eat one, but a few customers have ordered a savory and sweet.

While crepes are easy to hold and eat, Serena said they aren’t easy to make.

“It takes a lot of practice to make crepes and mine still don’t come out perfectly,” she said.

Where: 7012 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Details: 850-588-7531, gypseacrepespcb@yahoo.com or Facebook.com/gypseacrepes

GYPSEA CREPES